Recipe: Pot-au-feu of Young Pigeons with Truffle

1 Cut the smoked breast into large lardons. Place these lardons in a saucepan and blanch them for 3 minutes then refresh and drain them

2 Clean, trim and singe the young pigeons. Place them in a cocotte with the lardons, and briefly roast them in a tablespoon of duck fat. This quick operation has the sole function of searing and flavoring the skin.

3 Remove the pigeons from the cocotte where the browning of the lardons continues. Put them in a large pot and cover generously with cold water. Bring to a boil and maintain at high heat for twenty minutes, skimming regularly with a ladle (place the pot on the edge of the heat so that the scum gathers on the opposite side).

4 Meanwhile, wash and prepare the vegetables: divide the studded onion in half, the turnip into quarters, the carrots into slices, the leek and celery into chunks.

5 Sweat these vegetables in the cocotte with the lardons for a few minutes, then deglaze with a ladle of broth, scrape up the drippings well, and pour everything into the pot with the pigeons. Add the crushed garlic, parsley, thyme and bay leaf.

6 Cook in medium broth, uncovered, for another twenty minutes (skim if needed). After this time, add salt and peppercorns, moderately to account for the later reduction. Then allow to cook at low heat for 30 minutes.

7 Remove the pigeons, remove the fillets and return the carcasses to cook for one hour.
After this time, strain the broth (press on the garnish to recover all the juices).
Skim the broth and bring it to the desired reduction.