En vessie

En vessie refers to a cooking method in which a meat or other dish is cooked in a (pig) bladder. A well-known application is with Bresse chicken: Poularde de Bresse en vessie; a prepared chicken is stuffed with foie gras, truffles, and other flavorings, then enclosed in the bladder and poached in chicken broth. ^[1] The roots of the recipe go back to Escoffier, and this preparation was made famous by Paul Bocuse among other Lyonnais chefs. ^[2]

The advantage of the method is that the meat does not come into contact with the cooking liquid; in Poularde de Bresse en vessie, the juices from the chicken all stay in the chicken, and turn into a flavorful jelly if the dish is served cold. ^[3] The meat remains extremely moist. ^[4] It has been likened to the cooking method of sous vide where meat is vacuum packed and cooked slowly in a water bath. ^{[5] [6]} A similar effect can be achieved by wrapping chicken in aluminum foil. ^[7]

See also

• Food portal

• List of cooking techniques

References

1. "Poularde de Bresse en vessie". Cuisine française (in French). Archived from the original on 26 November 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
2. "History of a Dish: Poulet en Vessie". Hudson Valley Magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
3. David, Elizabeth (2006). South Wind Through the Kitchen: The Best of Elizabeth David. David R. Godine. p. 109. ISBN   9781567923094 . Retrieved 15 March 2013.
4. Abbie Hoffman (1982). Square Dancing in the Ice Age. South End Press. pp. 127–. ISBN   978-0-89608-194-9 . Retrieved 15 March 2013.
5. Andrew Friedman (1 December 2009). Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d'Or Competition. Simon and Schuster. pp. 221–. ISBN   978-1-4391-5684-1 . Retrieved 15 March 2013.
6. "Marco Pierre White's top 10 dishes". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. 2007-09-06.
7. James Peterson (29 February 2012). Glorious French Food: A Fresh Approach to the Classics. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 626–. ISBN   978-1-118-11324-0 . Retrieved 15 March 2013.