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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Roast Chicken “Demi-Deuil”, With Black Truffles

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Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7

A couple days ago someone who received a batch of Italian truffles in Minnesota was referred to me for some advice on how to use and preserve them.  It gave me the chance to write up a recipe I made a while back, and it’s a great one: Chicken Demi-Deuil.

The first time I read about this was in my culinary hero’s book: Cooking with the seasons by Jean Louis Palladin. It translates to “half-mourning”, referring to the half black and white pattern. It’s a time honored recipe using black truffles, and a great example of how to use their aroma to infuse things alongside the truffles themselves.

Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7
Gently loose the skin of the chicken.
Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7
Make sure to get all the way down to the legs, but be gentle.
Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7
When the skin is loose, begin placing the truffle slices in between the skin and meat.

Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7
Trussing the chicken.
Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7
Leave the chicken uncovered overnight to help the skin crisp.
Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7
You can baste it occasionally if you like. The skin won’t be as crisp though.

Basically you take a chicken, shove some truffles under the skin, then leave it overnight to infuse in flavor, then roast the next day. The aroma of the truffle permeates the meat of the chicken, giving it a great taste. It’s an ingenious way to use and showcase truffles, not to mention delicious.

Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7

Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7
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Roast Chicken “Demi-Deuil”, With Black Truffles

A classic recipe for chicken with black truffles tucked under the skin
Prep Time1 d
Cook Time1 hr 45 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Chicken Demi Deuil, Truffles
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 whole roasting chicken
  • Kosher salt and pepper
  • 12 slices fresh black truffles cut 1/8 in thick
  • 2 tbsp canola grapeseed oil or melted lard
  • 1 recipe truffle brine This is optional-recipe follows

Instructions

  • Soak the chicken in the cooled truffle brine overnight. The next day, remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry. Working gently with your hands, loosen the skin of the chicken all over by poking a finger between the skin and the flesh of the bird. Continue loosening the skin of the chicken with your fingers gently until you are able to reach down to the legs.
  • Take the slices of truffle and place them under the skin. Continue placing truffle slices under the skin of the bird until the bird is evenly covered and all of the truffle slices are used (make sure to get some slices around the legs and thighs!) Truss the legs of the chicken or tuck them under the bird so that it will cook evenly. Refrigerate the chicken overnight, uncovered.
  • The next day, remove the chicken from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature before cooking. (Cover it with a bowl or something on the counter if it’s summer and warm, or if there are flies in your house, or if leaving poultry out in the open makes you uncomfortable.)
  • Preheat the oven to 450, then roast the chicken until it is nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 and cook until the chicken is cooked through, and the juice runs clear when a leg is pierced. This should take about 1.5 hours, depending on the size of your bird and if your oven has a convection or fan setting.
  • Remove the chicken from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes before carving to allow the juices to redistribute and tenderize the meat.
  • Serve with roasted potatoes and a green vegetable like haricot verts or broccoli.

Notes

My recipe differs from traditional ones in that I soak the chicken in a truffle infused brine as well, which, although it takes a little extra time, adds an additional layer of truffle flavor in the bird and seasons it as well. Truffle brine is optional, brining is not.
You'll notice too that the chicken is refrigerated uncovered for a night too after the truffles are tucked under the skin. The exposure to air and resulting oxidization tightens the skin and helps it too crisp-a useful trick to know whether you have truffles or not. 
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Black Truffle Brine

Yield: 1 gallon, enough for 1 medium-large sized bird depending on your container.
Prep Time30 mins
Cooling Time3 hrs
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Black Truffles, Brine

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon water
  • 1 tsp truffle shavings or trim
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 1 head of garlic halved lengthwise
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 20 black peppercorns
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Instructions

  • Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a large stock pot, then turn off the heat and cool.
  • Store the brine in an airtight container until needed.

Notes

If you're lucky enough to dig fresh truffles from the ground, you may end up with trim from cleaning them or shavings. This is a great way to use truffle pieces that may be gritty, getting old or woody from you hoarding them in the refrigerator, or otherwise difficult to work with.

Chicken Demi-Deuil, With Black Truffles_-7

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Comments

  1. Julie

    August 5, 2020 at 4:51 am

    I can’t believe I am just finding your site now.So many inspiring recipes Nearly all of my family are hunters (aestivum, uncinatum brumale, magnatum) and we are often left with truffles we can’t sell. I am always looking for ways to experiment so I’ll definitely be trying out some of these. So thanks!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      August 5, 2020 at 8:37 am

      Thanks Julie, I’m contributing to a new book on truffles so there will be some fresh stuff in here before the end of the year. Happy hunting.

      Reply

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Alan Bergo
Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each Morels: the only wild mushroom I count by the each instead of the pound. 

Good day today, although my Twin Cities spots seem a full two weeks behind from the late spring. 2 hours south they were almost all mature. 

76 for me and 152 for the group. Check your spots, and good luck! 

#morels #murkels #mollymoochers #drylandfish #spongemushroom #theprecious
The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natu The first time I’ve seen fungal guttation-a natural secretion of water I typically see with plants. 

I understand it as an indicator that the mushrooms are growing rapidly, and a byproduct of their metabolism speeding up. If you have some clarifications, chime in. 

Most people know it from Hydnellum 
peckii-another polypore. I’ve never seen it on pheasant backs before.

Morels are coming soon too. Mine were 1 inch tall yesterday in the Twin Cities. 

#guttation #mushroomhunting #cerioporussquamosus #pheasantback #naturesbeauty
Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a Rain and heat turned the flood plain forest into a grocery store. 

#groceryshopping #sochan #rudbeckialaciniata #foraging
Italian wild food traditions are some of my favori Italian wild food traditions are some of my favorite. 

Case in point: preboggion, a mixture of wild plants, that, depending on the reference, should be made with 5-23 individual plants. 

Here’s a few mixtures I’ve made this spring, along with a reference from the Oxford companion to Italian food. 

The mixture should include some bitter greens (typically assorted asters) but the most important plant is probably borage. 

Making your own version is a good excercise. Here they’re wilted with garlic and oil, but there’s a bunch of traditional recipes the mixture is used in. 

Can you believe this got cut from my book?!

#preboggion #preboggiun #foraging #traditionalfoods
Oh the things I get in the mail. This is my kind Oh the things I get in the mail. 

This is my kind of tip though: a handmade buckskin bag with a note and a handful of bleached snapping turtle claws. 😁😂 

Sent in by Leslie, a reader. 

Smells like woodsmoke and the cat quickly claimed it as her new bed. 

#buckskin #mailsurprise #turtleclaws #thisimylife #cathouse
Bluebell season. Destined for a Ligurian ravioli Bluebell season. 

Destined for a Ligurian ravioli as a replacement for the traditional borage greens. 

#mertensiavirginica #virginiabluebells #spring #foraging
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