When I was exploring different types of forcemeat, I came across the word, galantine, which was new to me. I decided to learn about galantine and write a helpful post to share what I’ve learned about this tubed meat.
What is galantine?
A galantine is stuffed (deboned) chicken or fish. To make galantine, a deboned chicken is flattened, covered with forcemeat, inlays and/or a vegetable stuffing, rolled tightly (creating a tube shape), wrapped and poached in stock. Galantine is a French meat dish, served cold like a terrine or pâté.
Galantines have a reputation for being fancy and fussy dishes, to be brought out only for special occasions. They may seem beyond the amateur cook but that’s not necessarily true, especially if you ask your butcher to debone the chicken for you! Keep reading to learn more about making a galantine before you decide it’s not for you.
All about galantine!
There are many elements to a galantine, and I must admit, I found the topic confusing at first glance. So, I’ll break it down here, step by step, in case you’re also slightly mystified by galantines.
What’s in a galantine?
Galantines are typically made with these ingredients:
- Chicken meat.
- Chicken skin.
- Other meat, including ham, pork, sausage, etc.
- Stuffing, which can be made of meat or vegetarian delights such as olives, pistachios, spinach, etc.
- Spices and aromatics such as garlic and onion.
- Butter and cream.
- Wine or brandy.
Galantines can be made with many types of meat, so you’ll find lots of different galantine recipes to explore.
Types of galantines:
- Lobster galantine.
- Lamb galantine.
- Fois gras galantine.
- Turkey galantine.
- Duck galantine.
- Goose galantine.
- Veal galantine.
- Quail galantine.
- Christmas galantine.
- Beef or steak galantine.
What’s the process for making galantine?
These are the steps for making a poached (and labour-intensive) chicken galantine:
- Spice the meat that will be the forcemeat stuffing and let it sit overnight.
- Grind the meat in a meat grinder or food processor.
- Debone the chicken and flatten it, putting the skin side down.
- Spread the forcemeat and other stuffing ingredients onto the flattened chicken.
- Roll the chicken and stuffing into a tube and tuck in the odd bits at each end.
- Secure the roll with skewers or twine.
- Wrap the galantine securely with cheesecloth.
- Poach the galantine in a gelatinous broth and remove it when it’s done.
- Reduce the broth further, strain and refrigerate.
- Unwrap and re-wrap the cooled galantine.
- Layer on the aspic and any decorations you might want.
- Serve the galantine in slices.
According to Peter Hertzmann, a food blogger who describes himself as “obsessive with French cookery,” this method of making galantine takes days. [Never fear, I link you to Peter’s galantine recipe in a section further down called, A recipe for making galantine the labour-intensive way.]
However, not all galantine recipes are quite so time consuming. The roasted galantine recipes I saw seem to take less time; using already-ground meat as the filling is one time-saver.
These are the steps for making a roasted chicken galantine (which is more accurately called a ballotine) fairly fast:
- Spice the ground meat or vegetable-based stuffing (you may or may not have to grind the meat further into a paste).
- Debone the chicken and flatten it, putting the skin side down.
- Spread the forcemeat and other stuffing ingredients onto the flattened chicken.
- Roll the chicken and stuffing into a tube and tuck in the odd bits at each end.
- Secure the roll with skewers or twine.
- Roast in the oven.
- Make a sauce for the galantine.
- Let the galantine cool, unwrap it and serve in slices with the sauce. (Some recipes suggest putting the galantine in the fridge overnight before serving.)
So, that’s the basics of making galantine but, if you’re like me, you probably have a few more questions…
Is galantine always covered in aspic?
When I checked the dictionary, Oxford University Press (OUP), defined galantine as, “A dish of white meat or fish boned, cooked, pressed, and served cold in aspic.”
Except, most of the pictures I saw for galantines did not look covered in aspic. By digging further, I discovered that galantines with aspic have only a thin layer of aspic. This aspic is a result of being poached in a gelatinous stock or brushing the aspic onto the galantine, one layer at a time.
Recipes where the galantine is roasted in the oven typically do not call for a layer of aspic.
Is deboning a chicken always required to make galantine?
The bad news is you need a deboned chicken (or other fowl) to make a galantine. The good news is you have some options for deboning a chicken.
The easy way is to ask your butcher to debone the chicken for you. Be prepared to wait a while or come back later. Also, don’t make this request at your butcher shop during their busiest times; never make an enemy out of your butcher!
The hard way is to learn how to debone a chicken yourself. I’ve never done this; in fact, I’ve been known to mangle the job of splitting chicken thighs. However, from what I understand, the secrets to deboning a chicken include having a sharp knife, decent instructions and patience.
I can’t give you any of those things, but I can share a video of Jacques Pepin deboning a chicken with you. Actually, you’ll see him debone the chicken and make a roasted galantine with veggie stuffing in under five minutes (the miracle of TV).
Jacques Pépin’s Chicken Galantine
CaPaTn, a commenter on Reddit, pretty much summed up my feelings as I watched Jacques deboning the chicken…
A couple galantine recipes to consider
If you want to try making a galantine, you brave soul, you’ll need one (or more) recipes. I’ve put together a couple options for you here. Full confession: I’ve never made a galantine—partly because it seems too far beyond my forcemeat skills right now and partly because I find chicken doesn’t taste like much. But, mark my word, one day I’ll give it a go. (The easy version, for sure.)
A recipe for making galantine the labour-intensive way:
Recipe name and link:
Galantine de Poularde: A Recipe with Comments
Recipe author:
Peter Hertzmann (the fella I mentioned above who’s obsessed with French cookery)
“A galantine is not a last-minute dish. Depending on what items the chef has on hand and what has to be specially prepared, the finished dish can take up to a week to prepare.”
Peter Hertzmann
The reason I’m including this recipe:
This is the most detailed galantine in aspic recipe I found in my galantine investigations. It’s also the recipe with the most beautiful jellied outer layer. If you’ve never made galantine before but are known to be patient in the kitchen, I’m guessing you could handle this recipe.
A couple recipes for making galantine with less labour:
Recipe name and link:
Recipe author:
Good Food, Australia’s Home of the Hats
The reason I’m including this recipe:
This recipe doesn’t have too many ingredients, the instructions are easy to follow, and it doesn’t seem like it would take a lot of time (except for the overnight refrigeration). Plus, the outer layer of the galantine is browned nicely and looks delicious.
Recipe name and link:
Jacques Pepin’s Chicken Ballottine Stuffed with Spinach, Cheese and Bread Stuffing
Recipe author:
Jacques Pepin (on Rachael Ray’s website)
The reason I’m including this recipe:
First, because it’s by renowned French chef, Jacques Pepin. Second, because it has a veggie stuffing that I thought might appeal to some readers. Third, it doesn’t seem too complicated. (Again, I haven’t tried it, so buyer beware!)
What do you serve with galantine?
Galantine is a centerpiece dish so you can serve it on its own or with slices of artisanal bread and other items you’d find on a charcuterie platter. Most of the recipes I looked at simply said to slice and serve. Of course, serving it on a decorative platter or nice wooden cutting board gives the galantine the gravitas it deserves. After all your hard work!
WinedIn suggests that Pinot Noir pairs well with quail galantine. I couldn’t find any other galantine-and-wine pairing references so if you’ve got some ideas, please let me know so I can add your wisdom here.
Conclusion
Well, that’s it for now. I hope this article has demystified galantine for you as it did for me. So, tell me, is making galantine in your future, do you think?