A means for old-school French chefs to unload every scrap of nasty-ass leftovers, fish left on the bone after the fillets are gone, old poultry. Itβs basically extruded protein, whipped or pulverized, formed, and then poached like a gnocchi or a dumpling and usually heavily sauced. A Chicken McNugget, unbattered and then poached, might qualify as a quenelle.