[isaac]

Two of my cooks came to me today and wanted to learn how to make galantines. I havent done it for a long long time.

Any good recipes for a chicken galantine?

When boning out the chicken, it is the skin that you only use for wrapping the force meat, right? Do you add the chicken meat to the pork or veal when grinding?

Any tips or suggestions?

Also, is a galantine usually glazed with aspic???

[DC Sunshine]

Just looked with google for a recipe, came up with this:

UKTV Food: Recipes: Chicken Galantine

It asks for caul fat for the wrapping, not chicken skin, so am not sure if you can get that where you are. Instructions on the recipe are pretty good, but it does sound laborious! Can't say I'd ever have the patience to try it I reckon your cooks are suckers for punishment hehe!

Although it does say to reserve the skin for the stock after boning, so maybe you could use that if you can't get caul fat.

Hope this helps.

DC

[even stephen]

I usually bone the chicken whole starting from the back of the chicken,
going down both sides. When boned, I will butter fly the breast and thigh
meat to cover all the exposed skin. I then spread the chicken out on plastic
and cover with a layer of plastic wrap meat side up, then tamp out meat with a mallet. The filling for me is usually about 80% ground or processed chicken and 20% panada or cream and white bread.......then fancy it up with whatever flavors you care to......dried fruit or any number of different nuts, vegetables, whole boiled shelled quail or duck eggs, etc......it can really be anything. Cull fat is a way to get a smooth finished look, but you can always
just tie it as well. Its truly old school, but, a great way to make a lot out of a little. I prefer duck for the fat content, but, chicken works well also. I usually stick with the same meat as the boned bird, although, many use
any number of different meats. Foie Gras is a great thing for the force as well. Good luck......Much prefer what you would consider a Ballantine. I guess for all
practical purposes a roasted version of a galantine. More versatile in a restaurant
setting these days. You can serve about ten people with one duck and a little extra
duck breast. Good luck and have fun. By the way, for ballantines I suggest tying
with butchers twine, it seems to mantain shape a little better than just wrapping in
cull fat......

[isaac]

So when you bone the chicken, are you just looking to take the skin off and use the skin or do you need to leave the meat on the skin????

[even stephen]

Leave the meat.........Make sure and remove all the tendon, nerves and
large veins from the legs.....Feather the meat out and lightly tamp down
with a mallet or heavy small pan, with plastic wrap over the meat.....you
want an even layer of meat still mostly attached to the skin.....what you
want as an end product is a circle cut straight down giving you a round slice with the skin wrapped entirely around the slice, then a ring of meat about an
inch thick and then the large interior with the force or stuffing.....when you
roll the balantine you will have to overlap a little. When you tie the balantine,
do it a little loose.....snug, but not so snug you start to squeeze the force out. Bake on a rack and medium high. Your end product before cooking will
look like a big grub.......

[isaac]

galantine and balantine are different....

right?

You last mesage mentioned balantine....

[even stephen]

Yeah.......galantine is usually fowl, but, I believe sometimes fish and
is poached. I'm pretty sure it must be only poached. Its always served
chilled and is sometimes brushed with aspic. Really old school stuff.
Ballantines on the other hand are usually, but, not always fowl and are
roasted......served hot or cold.....both the galantine and the ballantine
use a fully deboned carcass and in the case of fowl, always have skin intact,
as much for mantaining moisture as for appearance...... I was just saying
that ballantines are a little more versatile in restaruants today......they can
be over the top with fillings that are exotic or quite rustic, using the meat
and a panada as the filling.....a great way to really drop food cost and make
some easy extra food revenue......not unlike breaking down your own veal racks and taking the flap off the back of the rack.....cleaning the silverskin
and blade bone off, then stuffing it with a force made from the deckle meat,
usable scrap, and a nice dice of carrot, celery, onions, some garlic, perhaps
porcinis or shitakes, then roll, then tie it up, braise it, chill it, slice it, pan it
and reheat for a busy night........32 bucks a plate........old classics......real
sensible utilization.......I guess I went on a little bit.......sorry....just trying
to justify learning those techniques to use on a regular basis, not just for the
sake of doing it one time.......good luck!!!!