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Berlin-Style Chicken Fricassee
(Berliner Huhnerfrikassee)
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| What You Need: |
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TONGUE
1-pound fresh veal tongue
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and quartered
bouquet made of 2 celery tops and 2 parsley sprigs, tied together
½ teaspoon salt
SWEETBREADS
1 pair veal sweetbreads (about ¾ pound)
Vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
CHICKEN
4-pound fowl or roasting chicken
2 carrots, scraped and coarsely chopped
2 leeks, including 2 inches of green, coarsely chopped
2 medium-sized onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 parsley sprigs
1 tablespoon salt
10 cups water
ASPARAGUS
1 pound fresh asparagus
2 teaspoons salt
SHRIMP
1 pound raw shrimp in their shells (about 26 to 30 per pound)
1 teaspoon salt
MUSHROOMS
½ pound small fresh mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thinly
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
SAUCE
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
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| How To Cook: |
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1. TONGUE: In a large saucepan, combine the tongue, quartered onion, bouquet and salt. Pour in enough cold water to cover the tongue by at least 2 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat.
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2. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pan and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the meat shows no resistance when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Add boiling water to the pan if needed; the tongue should be covered with water throughout the cooking period.
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3. Remove the tongue from the stock and while it is still hot, skin it with a small, sharp knife, cutting away the fat, bones and gristle at its base. Cut the tongue into ½-inch slices, then into ½-inch dice and set aside in a bowl. Discard the cooking liquid and vegetables.
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4. SWEETBREADS: Soak the sweetbreads in enough cold water to cover them for 2 hours, changing the water ever 30 minutes or so. Then soak them for another hour in acidulated cold water, using 1 tablespoon of vinegar for each quart of water.
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5. Gently pull off as much of the outside membrane as possible without tearing the sweetbreads. Cut the two lobes of the pair of sweetbreads from the tube between them with a small, sharp knife; discard the tube. Place the sweetbreads in an enameled saucepan with enough water to cover them by 2 inches, add the lemon juice and salt and bring to a boil.
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6. Reduce the heat to its lowest point and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the sweetbreads are tender when pierced with the tip of a fork. Drain and dry with paper towels. Then cut them into ½-inch dice and set them aside in a bowl.
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7. CHICKEN: In a 6-quart soup pot, combine the chicken, chopped carrots, leeks, chopped onions, parsley and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 10 cups of cold water, then bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot and simmer for 2½ to 3 hours if you are using a fowl, or for 1½ to 2 hours if you are using a roasting chicken.
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8. When the chicken is tender but not falling apart, take it from the pot. When it is cool enough to handle remove its skin with a small, sharp knife, and cut the meat away from the bones. Return the skin and bones to the stock, cut the chicken meat into ½-inch dice and set aside in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
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9. Bring the stock remaining in the pot to a boil, again, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes longer. Then strain it through a fine sieve set over a mixing bowl and set it aside.
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10. ASPARAGUS: With a small, sharp knife, cut off the butt ends of the asparagus spears and peel the tough skin from the lower end of each spear. Wash the spears under cold running water and divide them into 2 equal bunches. Tie each bunch together with loops of string at each end.
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11. In an enameled or stainless-steel pot large enough to hold the asparagus horizontally, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 teaspoons of salt to a bubbling boil. Drop in the asparagus, bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to moderate and cook uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the butt ends are tender but still slightly resistant when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.
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12. With two kitchen forks, lift the bundles out of the water by their strings and drain them on paper towels. Cut the stalks into 1-inch lengths and set aside.
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13. SHRIMP: Shell the shrimp, and with a small, sharp knife, make a shallow incision down the back of each shrimp and lift out the black or white intestinal vein. Wash the shrimp under cold running water.
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14. Bring 2 quarts of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Drop in the shrimp, reduce the heat to moderate and boil uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink and are firm. Do not overcook. Drain and set them aside.
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15. MUSHROOMS: Wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and cut away the tough ends of the mushroom stems. Bring 3 cups of water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to a boil in a 2- to 3-quart enameled or stainless-steel saucepan and drop in the mushrooms.
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16. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 3 minutes. Drain thoroughly, let the mushrooms cool, and chop them into fine dice. Set aside.
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17. SAUCES: Skim the fat from the surface of the reserved chicken stock. In a 2- quart enameled or stainless-steel saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat. When the foam subsides, stir in the flour. Pour in 6 cups of the stock and, beating vigorously with a whisk, bring the sauce to a boil.
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18. When it is quite thick and smooth, reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly for 5 minutes. Break up the egg yolks with a fork, then stir in ¼ cup of the simmering sauce. Whisk the egg-yolk mixture into the pan and bring the sauce to a boil, over moderate heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 30 seconds, remove from the heat and stir in the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Taste for seasoning.
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19. TO ASSEMBLE: In a large heavy casserole combine the sauce with the reserved tongue, sweetbreads, chicken, shrimp and mushrooms but do not include any juices which may have accumulated around them. Add the asparagus, and stir together gently but thoroughly with a large spoon. Tastefor seasoning. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is heated through. Serve directly from the casserole.
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20. NOTE: Morel mushrooms are often added to the fricassee and you may include ½ cup of them if you like. Dried morels must be soaked in 4 or 5 changes of cold water to remove all sand. Cover the morels with water, let them soak for about 30 minutes, then rinse them under running water squeezing out as much grit as possible. Repeat until the morels are completely clean. Simmer them in lightly salted boiling water to cover for 10 minutes, or until tender, drain thoroughly and cut them into quarters. Canned morels only need to be drained well, rinsed under cold running water, and cut into quarters. Whichever kind you are using, add them to the sauce along with the fresh mushrooms.
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