Erik Anderson’s Game Bird Tourte with Armagnac Prune Puree

Ingredients
For the fine mousse:

• 1kg chicken breast
• 160g egg whites
• 25g foie gras cure
• 25g potato starch
• 5g polyphosphate
• 450g heavy crème

For the course ground farce:

• 1500g thigh meat cut into 2cm cubes
• 200g bacon, rind removed and cut into 2cm pieces
• 300g cooked foie gras
• 240g chicken livers soaked in milk overnight
• 100g calvados

For the whole muscle marinade:

• 950g duck breast (preferably magret)
• 340g 2cm dice of chicken thigh
• 300g 2cm dice of sweetbread, cooked, pressed and peeled
• 450g 2 cm dice of foie gras, cured and poached
• 20 whole peppercorns
• foie gras cure mix
• 100g thinly sliced shallots
• 200g calvados

For the final tourte farce mix:

• 600g fine mousse (see above)
• 1200g course ground farce (see above)
• 15g kosher salt

For the final tourte filling:

• 200g diced meat from the whole muscle marinade (see above)
• 600g final tourte farce mix (see above)

For the tourte:

• 200g final tourte filling
• Puff pastry
• Egg wash

For the Armagnac prune puree:

• 500g demi sec prunes
• 200g sucrose
• 250g water
• 1  lemon
• 3 vanilla beans
• 750ml Armagnac

Method

For the fine mousse:

1. Dice the chicken into large cubes.
2. Blend all ingredients except the heavy crème together using a robot coup.
3. Once the mixture is smooth, start slowly streaming in the heavy crème until it has combined well into a mousse.
4.  Pass through a tamis and cryovac to store.

For the course ground farce:

1. Grind all ingredients with the small die of a Kitchen Aid grinding attachment (except the calvados).
2. Paddle the ground farce in the Kitchen Aid until the meat begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl – about 30 seconds.
3. Paddle an additional 15 seconds or so while you stream in the calvados.
4. Cryovac the mixture and chill it down immediately.

For the whole muscle marinade:

1. Season the whole duck breasts with the foie gras cure.
2. In a shallow plastic hotel pan, lay out the duck breasts, chicken thighs and sweetbreads in an even layer.
3. Sprinkle peppercorns and shallots evenly over the top, then sprinkle the calvados evenly over the top, cover with plastic wrap and press plastic down to cover the meat.
4. Marinate for 3 hours then flip, re-cover and marinate for an additional 3 hours.
5. Rinse the breasts, pat them dry and dice to into 2cm cubes.
6. Add the foie gras to the rest of the meat and mix.

For the final tourte farce mix:

1. Combine the course ground farce and mousse, ensuring even distribution.
2. Season with salt and reserve in cryovac bag.

For the final tourte filling:

1. Combine both ingredients evenly mixing gently with gloved hands working in a bowl over an ice bath.
2. Weigh the finished mixture into 200 gram balls – there should be 13 balls.
3. Press the balls in the inside of an 8oz ladle lined with food service film.
4. Wrap the balls in the film after they are formed.

For the tourte assembly:

1. Complete all these steps whilst in the cooler.
2. Punch the puff pastry into 16cm rounds with a pastry ring cutter.
3. Slightly freeze the bird mix.
4. Lay one round down and dock liberally using a fork.
5. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.
6. Place a 200g ball of the final tourte mix in the center of the pastry round.
7. Top the ball with another 16cm puff pastry round and working carefully, start forming the pastry around the top of the ball – make sure you aren’t stretching or folding the dough.
8. Once completed, crimp all sides of the dough where they meet at the bottom.
9. Crimp edges again with a fork to seal and then punch out again to trim the edges evenly.
10. Dock all around the tourte at the very bottom directly above the edge, then use a cake tester to poke holes around the entire pastry at the very bottom.
11. Egg wash the completed tourte, and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
12. Egg wash the tourte again after 30 min, and then again after a further 30 minutes – the pastry should be washed a total of 3 times.
13. After the third egg wash, use a #804 pastry tip to punch out a vent on the very top center of the tourte – the vent must be perfectly centered.
14. Score the pastry in curved lines leaving 1cm between each of the lines.
15. Bake tourte at 190°C convection for 10 minutes, then rotate and bake for an additional 6 minutes.
16. Allow the tourte to rest for 30 min before slicing.

For the Armagnac prunes:

1. Make a simple syrup with the water and sucrose.
2. Add the zest of 1 lemon and the split vanilla beans.
3. Boil for 45 seconds.
4. Place prunes in 8 quart cambro and pour boiling syrup over prunes.
5. Allow to steep at room temperature for 24 hours.
6. After 24 hours, pass the mixture, reserving the liquid but discarding the lemon and vanilla beans.
7. Combine prune liquid and Armagnac by placing prunes in glass jar and pouring Armagnac liquid over the top.
8. Seal and allow to sit for 1 month.

For the Armagnac prune puree:

1. Pass the cured prunes through a chinois, separating the prunes from the liquid.
2. Add prunes to the blender and blend on high adding just enough of the liquid to make the prunes into a silky pure.
3. Finish with a knob of whole butter, and season with salt as needed.

Plating 

To serve each plate:

• 1 slice bird tourte that is a ¼ of the total tourte
• 15g warmed truffle vinaigrette
• Armagnac prune puree
• Microplaned black truffle
• Salad of peppery greens

Recipe courtesy of Erik Anderson and the recipe forms part of the 2018 Winter Menu at Coi Restaurant.

Erik Anderson Chef Feature