This method of cooking straight from the Middle Ages
requires a real pig's bladder to be used. Fairly meticulous to perform, bladder
cooking has many advantages for recipes. Also discover how to prepare the
traditional chicken in half mourning.
You too may have discovered it during the semi-final of Top
Chef 2020, bladder cooking is only used in major French restaurants. However,
it is indeed part of our gastronomic culture! Just like the most famous low
temperature , vacuum and steam cooking .
As the name suggests, bladder cooking involves simmering
meat, fish or vegetables in a… pork bladder . Said like that, it seems a bit
peculiar but this is how we traditionally cooked in the Middle Ages, according
to historians. The method has the merit of obtaining a soft and fragrant
texture because all the aromas are trapped in the bladder. But between the
closing of the bladder, its fragility and the fact that the cooking is done
“blind”, controlling the cooking in the bladder is not an easy task . Here's
everything you need to distinguish before you test it.
Bladder cooking is
done in a real pork bladder and is equally suitable for vegetables, meat and
fish.
Why cook in
a bladder?
Cooking in a bladder allows its ingredients to "lock
up" in the pork bladder, which has the effect of dispersing all the aromas
inside and therefore ensuring a perfect and fragrant texture . To cook in a
bladder, you must first thoroughly clean a pig's bladder. Then, a bit like a double
boiler , immerse it in a pot of boiling water so that the ingredients do not
come into direct contact with the water. Water regularly but be careful not to
burst the bag.
Who
invented bladder cooking?
She disappeared until the end of the 19th century and was
brought back to the forefront by the chef Françoise Fayolle, better known as “
Mère Fillioux ”. She invented the recipe for half-mourning poultry, cooked in a
pork bladder, then taught it to Mother Brazier . From her full name, Eugénie
Brazier, was an emblematic cook of Lyon bouillons but she is also the first
woman to be awarded three Michelin stars. Later, it will be Paul Bocuse , pupil
of mother Brazier, who, in tribute to mother Fillioux, will take over the
recipe. Many chefs will follow.
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The traditional recipe for half-mourning Bresse chicken
cooked in a bladder
Poultry cooked in a pork bladder is THE legendary dish of
Lyon broths.
⋙ Capon , chicken, turkey… How to choose the right
poultry?
The
ingredients for 6 people:
• 1 pork bladder
• 150 g of meat to stuff
• 1 chicken of 1.8 kg
• 0.05 cl of Madeira
• 2 fresh black truffles
• 0.05 cl of cognac
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots
• 2 leeks
• 1 turnip
• 0.2 cl of broth
• 2 sprigs of fresh tarragon
• 1 bouquet garni
• Salt pepper
The preparation
steps:
1. Soak the bladder in cool water. Leave it on for 8-10
hours before blotting it. Empty it.
2. Between the skin and the flesh of the chicken, on the
wings and thighs, slip a few strips of peeled truffle. Season with the bouquet
garni, salt and pepper.
3. Add the rest of the truffles and the tarragon to the
stuffing flesh.
4. Stuff the chicken and clamp it so that it does not deform
during cooking. Season it before putting it into the bladder.
5. Stir in the Madeira and the cognac then close the
bladder. To do this, tie its end firmly with string.
6. In a pot, cook the vegetables cut into pieces and peeled
with the broth. Place the bladder there. Cook for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Be
careful not to pierce the bladder, which must remain swollen.
7. When the cooking is finished, take the poultry out of the
bladder and drain it in a bowl. Remove the stuffing then put it in a sieve to
keep only fine pieces. Mix it with the juice of the chicken. Put in a gravy
boat.
8. To serve, put the chicken in a dish and serve it with
vegetables or rice.
