Presenting Poultry

A bunch of fresh watercress or a few potatoes is sufficient decoration for a whole bird that has been trussed and is golden brown from roasting. Often a bird, braised or pot-roasted with vegetables, needs no embellishment other than a sprinkling of chopped parsley. The plump breast of a chicken or capon, perhaps in “half-mourning” with slices of black truffle under the skin, is enhanced by a creamy velouté sauce.

A cold buffet is hardly complete without poultry, the boned turkeys or chickens sliced to reveal a stuffing of veal, mushroom or ham, the duck breasts layered with orange slices before being coated with aspic. For a grander display, the birds can be carved, reshaped on the bone and displayed in chaudfroid with a rich white or brown sauce for flavoring, surrounded by a panoply of stuffed vegetables and decorated with checkerboards or garlands of flowers cut from egg white, truffle, tomato and leek.