Serves 6
This dish is essentially the flavor of chicken noodle soup served as a noodle—without any soup. All of the hearty flavors of the soup—the rich broth, the aromatic mirepoix—are deconstructed. Chicken thighs are roasted, dehydrated, and powdered into a flour for the noodle. Chicken fat is rendered and blended with tapioca maltodextrin to create a richly flavored powder. Butter-poached celery and mirepoix puree add depth. Finally, crispy chicken skin adorns the dish and provides a hearty crunch.
When black truffles are in season, we pull out a shaver and bury the noodles in them just before serving. One thing I loved about working at Charlie Trotter’s was the sheer amount of truffles he had on hand. Some weeks, we’d spend more on truffles than we did on all the other food. Charlie taught us to always strive for the ultimate in quality and presentation. We did the ridiculous, the insane—because anything less was unthinkable.
300 grams chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on
10 grams canola oil
200 grams chicken skins reserved from thighs, kept whole
50 grams tapioca maltodextrin (see Sources, here)
1.5 grams salt
Chicken skins, reserved from Chicken Fat Powder
Salt for seasoning
150 grams all-purpose flour
50 grams Chicken Flour
1.5 grams salt
108 grams (6 large) egg yolks
50 grams (about 1 large) egg
10 grams olive oil
15 grams unsalted butter
200 grams carrots, diced
150 grams onions, diced
75 grams celery, diced
5 grams canola oil
450 grams water
50 grams unsalted butter
2.5 grams salt
100 grams celery
200 grams unsalted butter
1.5 grams salt
Black truffles (optional)
Dehydrator (optional)
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Line a sheet pan with foil. Carefully remove the skins from the chicken thighs, reserving them for the Chicken Fat Powder and Chicken Crisps. Lay the chicken thighs on the prepared pan and roast them for 30 minutes, until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Pick the meat from the bones. Lay the shredded meat out on a dehydrator tray or a sheet pan. Dehydrate in a dehydrator at 90°F, or in an oven at the lowest setting for 12 hours, until completely dry. Transfer to a food processor and process on high until the dehydrated chicken becomes a fine powder.
Put the canola oil and chicken skins in a medium saucepot set over low heat. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that the skins render out their fat. They do not need to crisp up. Strain off the fat and reserve the skins for Chicken Crisps. Let the fat cool to room temperature.
Put the tapioca maltodextrin in a food processor, turn the machine on, and slowly drizzle in 50 grams of rendered chicken fat. Keep mixing until all the fat is absorbed into the powder. Reserve the Chicken Fat Powder in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Lay the chicken skins feather side down on a cutting board. Use a metal bench scraper to scrape away any excess fat. Line a sheet pan with a silicone mat and lay the skins out on the mat, season the skins with salt, and place another silicone mat on top of them so that they lie flat. Set a rack on top of the second mat to press the skin. Bake for 20 minutes, until the skins are golden brown and crisp. Line a plate with paper towels. Remove from the oven and transfer to the prepared plate to cool completely. Store the Chicken Crisps in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Put the flour, Chicken Flour, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the yolks, egg, and olive oil. Use a fork to whisk them together and then slowly begin incorporating the flour into the liquid, mixing and kneading everything together until you have a dough ball.
Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop and knead for 2 minutes, or until silky and smooth. Wrap the dough ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, remove the pasta dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a rough rectangle that will fit into your pasta machine. Roll it through the machine on the highest setting 2 times and then lower the setting by 1 increment. Roll it out 2 times on this setting and then lower the setting by 1 increment. Continue rolling it out in this manner until you reach the second-to-last
setting. After rolling it through this setting 2 times, cut the dough into ½-inch-wide noodles.
Set a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Cook the chicken noodles for 3 minutes, until just tender. Transfer the noodles to a large sauté pan and add 60 grams of the pasta cooking water. Toss to coat the noodles. Add the butter to the pasta, toss it with the noodles to melt and emulsify it into a glaze. Keep warm until ready to plate.
Put the carrots, onions, celery, and canola oil in a medium saucepot set over low heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are aromatic. Add the water, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree on medium speed. Once the mixture is smooth, slowly add pieces of butter to the puree to emulsify it. When all of the butter has been absorbed, add the salt. Transfer the Mirepoix Puree to a saucepot and keep warm until ready to serve.
Peel the celery and slice into ¼-inch-thick slices. Melt the butter in a medium saucepot set over low heat. Add the salt and stir to blend, then add the celery, and stir to coat the vegetables with butter. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the butter, and keep the celery warm in a small saucepot until ready to serve.
Place 25 grams of the Mirepoix Puree in the center of each plate. Stand the tip of a spoon in the center of the puree and drag it across the plate in a line to make a swoosh. Put three 10-gram piles of Butter-Poached Celery on top of the puree. Divide the Chicken Pasta into 6 equal portions. Use a carving fork to twirl the pasta into a cylindrical shape that you can stand up on the plate. Place the pasta on the celery. Top it off with a Chicken Crisp. Sprinkle 15 grams of Chicken Fat Powder on top of the pasta. Shave black truffles on top, if using. Repeat with the 5 remaining plates and serve immediately.