A ballotine is a boneless cut of any meat, fowl, or fish, stuffed and wrapped into a bundle and braised. It is like a miniature galantine, except that a galantine is a more elaborate preparation involving the whole beast, or like a roulade, which is a simpler preparation of a piece of meat pounded thin and wrapped around something. All are a form of sausage, and the stuffing can be almost anything edible. Here, the wrap is chicken breast and the something is ham sausage. You might think of it as a sausage with a sausage filling. Fancy though it might sound, its preparation is not difficult, and the outcome is decidedly elegant. Because this is a dish where the chicken takes a lead roll, it is important to have the best-tasting chicken available: organic and with a fatty skin still on the breast. It’s the skin that makes the sausage unctuous. The cheesecloth wrap ensures that the breast remains moist throughout as it braises. I serve the ballotine warm for a main dish with the braising liquid reduced to a sauce. I also serve it chilled as an appetizer. To serve chilled, refrigerate the ballotine overnight still wrapped in cheesecloth. The next day, remove the wrap, slice thinly, and arrange on a platter. Accompany with cornichons, Dijon mustard, and baguette slices.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Ham Sausage
Preparation
Step 1
To make the ham sausage, combine the ham and shallot in a food processor and process until finely cut. Add the tarragon, pepper, and cream and process to blend without pureeing. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 2
To make the ballotine, bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil over high heat. Drop in the chard leaves and boil just to wilt, about 30 seconds. Drain and set aside to cool while preparing the chicken breast.
Step 3
Place the chicken breast between sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet until no more than 1/4 inch thick. Place the breast skin side down on a work surface and sprinkle generously with salt. Set the chard leaves across the surface of the breast. Place the ham sausage in the center and spread it over the leaves, leaving a 1-inch edge exposed along the long sides. Starting from a long side, roll up the breast to enclose the sausage and then tuck in the ends. Wrap in a length of cheesecloth long enough to leave 1 inch at either end after wrapping. Tie off the ends with kitchen string, and girdle the roll in four places with kitchen string.
Step 4
To cook the ballotine, heat the butter in a deep-sided sauté pan or large pot over medium-high heat. Add the ballotine and cook, turning often, until browned all around, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, cover, and cook, turning three times, until firm when pressed but still a little bouncy rather than hard, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside to rest for 10 minutes. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and set aside to cool while the ballotine rests.
Step 5
Skim the fat off the top of the cooled broth, place the broth in a small saucepan, and whisk in the mustard. Put the pan over medium heat and heat just until the mixture begins to boil.
Step 6
To serve, remove the cheesecloth from the ballotine and slice it into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Arrange the slices on a platter, pour the warm sauce over them, and serve.
