Chicken mousseline - attempt one

Experimenting with food ideas for the forthcoming Festive season. It’s summer here and so Christmas Day is just as likely to be 40+C. For this reason I refuse to cook a traditional roast and the potential for a Total Fire Ban day puts barbecue out of contention. Fortunately I only have a small table to cater for Christmas lunch.

Thought a mousseline might make an interesting entree. Not made one before, but I think the proportions seem pretty good. Chicken, egg white and cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mince. Pass. Chill. Decided to roll it in prosciutto.

The bands are just egg rings that had a couple of knives slotted between to give the roll some weight and keep it submerged.

Cooked sous vide at 65C for 4 hours. Wondering what dropping it to 60C for longer would do for the texture.

Pan seared in cast iron to crisp the prosciutto.

Presented for main course last night. Accompanied with fondant potato, seared asparagus and a parmesan crisp for texture. The gel cubes are mulberry vinegar which play nicely with the richness of the mousse. It might be better as a fluid gel or gastrique in future.

For an entree I’d use just a single slice of mousseline with the gel and a crisp.

All in all I’m happy for a first attempt, but a heritage chicken would offer more chicken flavour.

2 Likes

Very nicely done, Ember.
The texture looks perfect. Did you serve it with a buttery Australian Chardonay?

I don’t cook with eggs much, maybe someone with more experience will contribute. My though is that at 60ᴼC you are close to the lowest temperature for egg white coagulation and a longer time might not make any significant difference. The result might be a bit wet and no more tender.

Good point. Not that tenderness is an issue. I mean, it’s passed through a fine tamis, after all. I usually do my eggs at 63C, II was just working on the fact that I usually do my chicken at 60C.

I tend to be a red wine fan, so it was served with a local Cabernet Merlot blend.

That looks good I’ll be trying that Thanks

Looks delicious!