Chicken Cardinal la Balue

Ingredients

• 1 good quality chicken weighing at least 2 kg
• salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• butter (for sauté)
• 12 nice crayfish
• broth (to boil the crayfish)
• 50 g butter
• ¾ litre of thick crème fraîche

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into eight pieces and season with salt and coarsely ground pepper.
2. Sauté in butter taking care not to let the chicken brown, then place in the oven to continue cooking, uncovered (keep the sauté pan with juices for later).
3. Meanwhile, take the crayfish and boil them for 5 minutes in some broth (your choice).
4. Remove the tails and set aside.
5. Grind the carcasses, pass through a sieve and mix the resulting purée with 50 g of butter.
6. When the chicken pieces are cooked, arrange them in a covered baking dish, taking care to place the thighs on the bottom to keep the white meat from drying out.
7. Deglaze the sauté pan with the crème fraîche and simmer until reduced to a nice sauce.
8. To finish, add the crayfish tails to the baking dish along with the sauce and at the very last minute, add the crayfish purée.
9. Adjust the seasonings and baste the chicken.
10. Serve piping hot.