Truffle-Butter Poached Cornish Game Hen with Black Garlic Gastrique, Sunchoke Purée, and Crispy Salsify

Our quest of eating the proteins out of our standup freezer continues. While reorganizing (and swapping the poultry shelf with the red meat shelf - we have far more beef & lamb than chicken, duck & turkey for every part of the year except late November), we discovered two Cornish game hens sitting in the back of the shelf.

This inspired some thought about flavor profiles and what to put together to create a pretty interesting dish. Especially as I moved the giant bag of transglutaminase from one freezer to another, the thought of a sous vide'd roulade (inspired by some others on Reddit) and some back and forth with ChatGPT lead to this recipe.

This touches on all the different tastes we're looking for towards execution and honestly works for any season. The puree feels like fall, the roulade reminds me of summer, and the gastrique has a spring-like tang, while the whole thing comes together with a heartiness that I'm eating in February, as freezing rain falls here outside of DC. The textures and flavors work well to compliment each other, and makes for a delicious option.

I haven't decided if this dish - or any part of it - will make it to my home-cook tasting menu. Laura and I haven't even decided when we're going to do it. We both want family and friends to eat it when we do execute, but we also want to perfect each component first. But now that we've tasted it, this is rapidly becoming a potential star of a meal.

The dish plates beautifully. The contrasting colors and combination of textures and depth works extremely well together.

Recipe

Ingredients

🛒 Protein

✅ 2 Cornish game hens (airline breasts + leg roulades)
✅ Duck or veal stock (for the sauce)

🛒 Dairy & Eggs

✅ 1 cup European-style high-fat butter (for poaching & purée)
✅ ½ cup heavy cream (for purée)

🛒 Fresh Produce

✅ 4 oz fresh black truffle (or truffle paste)
✅ 2 large sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes)
✅ 2 stalks salsify
✅ 1 large leek (for ash)
✅ 2 sprigs fresh thyme (for butter poaching)
✅ 1 bunch microgreens (pea shoots or red amaranth)

🛒 Aromatics & Pantry Staples

✅ 3 cloves black garlic (or black garlic paste)
✅ ½ cup aged balsamic vinegar
✅ 1 tbsp honey
✅ ½ tsp white miso paste (for depth in purée)
✅ ½ tsp porcini powder
✅ Fine sea salt
✅ Freshly ground black pepper
✅ Smoked paprika

🛒 Specialty Ingredients

✅ Transglutaminase (optional, for binding leg roulades)

🛒 Cooking Oils & Fats

✅ Neutral oil (for frying salsify)

Execution

⏳ Total Time Breakdown

• Preparation: ~30 minutes
• Cooking: ~2 hours (includes sous vide and reductions)
• Plating & Final Touches: ~10 minutes

🦃 Butchering & Prepping the Hen (30 min)

Steps:

1. Separate the Breasts: Cut out the airline breasts (keeping the first wing joint attached).
2. Debone the Legs: Carefully remove bones from the leg and thigh, keeping the skin intact.
3. Form the Roulades:
   • Lay out each leg skin-side down.
   • Sprinkle lightly with salt, black pepper, and a hint of smoked paprika.
   • Roll tightly into a log shape, binding with transglutaminase or tying with butcher’s twine.
4. Dry-Brine: Let the chicken rest, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 6 hours.

🧈 Truffle-Butter Poaching the Hen (Sous Vide: 90 min / Poaching: ~30 min)

Steps:

1. Prepare the Poaching Butter:
   • Melt butter over low heat.
   • Add truffle shavings and fresh thyme. Let steep for 5 minutes.
2. Sous Vide Method (Preferred):
   • Preheat water bath to 140°F (60°C).
   • Seal airline breasts and leg roulades in vacuum bags with a few tablespoons of truffle butter.
   • Cook for 90 minutes.
3. Traditional Poaching Method:
   • Gently poach the chicken in the truffle butter on very low heat (~160°F/70°C) for 30 minutes.
4. Searing (Final Step for Both Methods):
   • Heat a dry pan over medium-high heat.
   • Sear the chicken skin-side down until golden and crispy.

🍷 Black Garlic Gastrique (20 min, can be done ahead)

Steps:

1. In a small saucepan, combine:
   • ½ cup aged balsamic vinegar
   • 3 cloves black garlic (mashed into a paste)
   • 1 tbsp honey
2. Simmer on medium-low heat until reduced by half (~15 minutes).
3. Add a splash of duck or veal stock for richness and cook for 5 more minutes.
4. Strain and keep warm. (I put mine in a prep bowl and keep in a counter-top all-purpose oven/toaster/air fryer on "warm" at 120° F)

🥔 Sunchoke Purée (30 min, mostly hands-off)

Steps:

1. Roast the Sunchokes:
   • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
   • Toss 2 large sunchokes in a little butter and roast until golden (~25 minutes).
2. Blend the Purée:
   • Transfer sunchokes to a blender.
   • Add 2 tbsp brown butter, ½ cup heavy cream, and ½ tsp miso paste.
   • Blend until smooth.

🥢 Crispy Salsify (15 min, done last minute)

Steps:

1. Peel 2 stalks of salsify, then shave into thin ribbons using a peeler.
2. Heat neutral oil to 325°F (163°C).
3. Fry salsify in batches until crisp (~1-2 minutes).
4. Drain on paper towels and season with fine sea salt & a pinch of porcini powder.

🔥 Leek Ash & Garnish (10 min, can be done ahead)

Steps:

1. Char a leek over an open flame or broil in the oven until blackened.
2. Cool, then grind into a fine powder.

🍽️ Plating (10 min, Final Assembly)

Steps:

1. Spread the Sunchoke Purée as a base.
2. Place the Poached Airline Breast & Sliced Leg Roulade on the plate.
3. Drizzle with Black Garlic Gastrique for a deep umami contrast.
4. Add Crispy Salsify Ribbons on top for height.
5. Dust with Leek Ash, Porcini Powder & Finish with Microgreens for balance.📜