This was served as part of the second course at the Ymir 2023 feast, plattered alongside the Chicken with Green Sauce for a deliberate contrast of white meat in a rich liaison sauce against dark meat with a sharp green sauce.
Introduction
Chicken breasts poached in broth with rosemary, thyme, and mace, finished with an egg-yolk-and-wine-and-lemon liaison sauce. This is a more refined dish than the green sauce chicken — lighter, richer, appropriate to the second course. The egg liaison technique is a notable development in period cooking, producing a smooth, creamy sauce without flour or starch.
Source
The Recipe Book of Sarah Longe (1610)
A white ffrigasy. Take the fleash of 6 Chickens, & cut the leggs and wings into peeces, and the other cutt in as broad thin peeces as you cann, then take strong broth, and a bundle of sweet herbs and large mace, and boyle all together till they be tender, then put your Chickens into the pan, then take 9 yelkes of Eggs, and beate them with a little white wine, or a little Vinigar, a little sugar and the Iuice of a lemon, but fry your Chickens, when they are ready then put in your Eggs, and toss them well together, fry them, not too long after your Eggs be in, for they will Curdle, soe serve them with Cippits, straw minced parcly over the Dish.
Discussion
- This dish and the Chicken with Green Sauce were served together on the same platter — dark meat with the sharp green sauce on one side, white meat in the liaison sauce on the other. They’re listed as separate dishes in the menu but function as a single presentation, and the contrast between the two was deliberate.
- I cut the chicken breasts into thin medallions and poached them in chicken broth at 165–170°F with tied bunches of rosemary and thyme and mace in a bag for easy removal. The chicken was pulled at an internal temperature of 150°F — slightly underdone, because it finishes cooking when the sauce is added.
- The egg liaison is the critical technique here. Sarah Longe’s recipe warns that the eggs “will Curdle” if cooked too long — she clearly knows the risk but doesn’t describe tempering as a solution. I tempered the egg-yolk-wine-lemon mixture with hot broth from the chicken before combining it with the meat, which is a standard modern technique for avoiding curdling in egg-thickened sauces. The original text doesn’t specify this step, but the intent is the same: don’t curdle the eggs.
- The sauce was adjusted with salt, sugar, ground mace, and additional lemon juice to taste. The lemon juice was added last to the egg mixture to minimize the risk of curdling from the acid.
White Fricassee of Chicken
Chicken breasts poached in herb-and-mace broth, finished with an egg-yolk-wine-lemon liaison — a refined Elizabethan dish from Sarah Longe’s 1610 receipt book.
Ingredients
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin medallions
4 c chicken broth (enough to cover)
1 sprig rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 tsp whole mace blades (in a spice bag)
- Liaison:
3 egg yolks
3 tbsp white wine
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 1/2 tbsp)
1 tsp sugar
Salt and ground mace, to taste
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley, for garnish
Directions
- Bring chicken broth to 165–170°F in a heavy pan. Add rosemary, thyme, and mace bag.
- Add chicken medallions and poach gently, maintaining temperature, until internal temperature reaches 150°F — approximately 8–10 minutes. The chicken will finish cooking in the sauce.
- While the chicken cooks, whisk together egg yolks, white wine, and sugar. Add lemon juice last to minimize the risk of curdling from the acid.
- When the chicken is done, remove herbs and mace bag. Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in a ladle of hot broth from the chicken pan.
- Stir the tempered egg mixture back into the pot with the meat. Return to low heat and stir until the sauce thickens slightly — do not let it boil, or the eggs will curdle.
- Taste and adjust with salt, ground mace, and additional lemon juice. Garnish with minced parsley and serve.
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