Jacques Pépin's Chicken Ballotine is Classic for a Reason | KQED

Jacques Pépin celebrates his blend of French and American roots with a menu that pays tribute to both cultures. The main course is a French classic: chicken ballontine, a deboned whole chicken stuffed with red rice, wild mushrooms, and leeks. The first course is a soft shell crab recipe served with asparagus and tomato. Jacques rounds out the meal with an elegant dessert of pears in grendaine and white wine sauce.
In This Episode:
00:00: Whole soft shell crab recipe
6:38 Jacques Pepin's chicken ballotine recipe
8:06 How to break down a chicken.
12:46 How to tie up a chicken with kitchen twine
18:57 Pears in grenadine and white wine dessert recipe
Today's Gourmet with Jacques Pépin - Full episode
Season 3, Episode 326, 1994. French American Recipes
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About Today's Gourmet with Jacques Pépin:
Today’s Gourmet aired on KQED 9 for 3 seasons, spanning 1991 - 1993. The series showcased Jacques' culinary techniques, mouthwatering recipes, and his sensibilities as a chef. Episodes include recipes such as gnocchi maison and visits from special guests including the godmother of the organic food movement, Alice Waters.
The Jacques Pépin Foundation is dedicated to enriching lives and strengthening communities through the power of culinary education. jp.foundation/​​​
Subscribe to @KQEDFood to watch more food videos.

[@janetmelton4636]

Deboning…such a great skill,took me over an hour the first time as I had to watch the video over and over. Takes me about 10 minutes now. Makes a great roast chicken and so easy to carve at the table! Jacques and Julia are my favs

[@mrpiccolo23]

Same. I wrote down all the steps so I wouldn't have to touch anything with chicken hands to rewind. About 25 steps. I've almost memorized it, have done a few of them-usually with spinach and mushrooms.

[@americanmade6996]

If I really try I can get it down to about ten or twelve minutes, but I savor handling food and getting to the boneless outcome, so I never do this when time is an issue. I also timed him from him from the first cut to "should not take much more than a minute"--102 seconds, including pauses for instruction. This man dances through cooking.

[@radardimaria2261]

Practice makes perfect! I can do it in about 3 minutes now.....and it is so impressive, people think you are so skilled....I love making this with spinach/mushroom stuffing too....delish!

[@mechanicalman1068]

@@radardimaria2261if people,think you’re skilled for deboning a chicken in 3 minutes it’s because you are. Nice work. I can do about five now, but it’s not as clean as a pro and wouldn’t be if I took longer. I just did a riff on this recipe farro cooked with dried porcini, leek and chard. Really fantastic.

[@flarica64]

Wow! Congratulations! I am going to try it as well.

[@mtnman666]

nobody will ever be able to swing a knife with such skill&grace as master pepin does

[@Akeruyri]

What are you talking about? There are many professional chefs that are that good with a knife.

[@mechanicalman1068]

There are thousands. These are the foundational skills of a trained and experienced professional cook, not rarified art. Not taking anything away from him, the man is a legend, and many professional cooks don’t have his knife skills, but let’s not take anything away from the thousands of dedicated pros who also spend years and thousands of hours honing their craft. I’m pretty sure he would agree with me.

[@Dawgator]

19:30 “A bit of dis-TANC-tion.” We love Jacques! 🤣

[@hoosierflatty6435]

My inner monologue when I'm cooking has now taken on this fine man's accent and gentle nature (even when doing other stuff around the house too!).

[@joannaedwards6325]

Yup. J.P.'s voice is so soothing to me that I like to listen before bedtime. ..to have sweet dreams😊 "Here we are and it's perfectly fine." 😪

[@rraguso]

that deboning is some legendary action. thanks for recording it for posterity!

[@Donaldopato]

Elegant, skilled and not fussy or pretentious. My Chef-god!

[@m.theresa1385]

These episodes never age. As always with Chef Jacques Pépin there are lots of excellent techniques and skills to be learned. Thanks chef!

[@Kingfisher1215]

Good thing they don’t age, this one is from about 30 years ago.

[@fellspoint9364]

JP will forever be my favorite culinary instructor and inspiration to accept greater challenge with confidence .

[@BlindSwami_]

He cooks french classics perfectly with the same hap hazardness as me making a late night drunk noodle stir fry. So much confidence in his own experience its crazy

[@sensualchocolate4928]

I have watched Chef Pepin since I was a young lad and he truly is an amazing Chef and possibly more importantly makes wonderfully tasting food. I have made many of Chef's recipes and have yet to find one I don't like. Thank you Chef for all the years of wonderful entertainment and food.

[@ctwest3601]

The first time I made Jacques chicken ballontine I was preparing dinner by myself. No one else in the house, as I was preparing in advance. Let me tell you, an open book with some diagrams would have been a godsend. All I had as a video on my phone, and chicken all over my hands. I had to keep stopping, washing up, and hitting play/pause to figure out what was next! I'm much better now, it's actually my go-to for turkey since I can do it ahead, then let everything dry brine overnight, and the next day I have the roast ready to rock and the bones available to make a wonderful stock for gravy. A wonderful technique, but definitely something you have to learn by doing.

[@P.F.3.]

As a Chef I still watch Chef Jaques to learn and be inspired! Thank you Chef JP

[@flarica64]

You can only get better watching The Goat.😃

[@tommydenato8863]

My God. He is such a pro. Legit the picasso of food. Just incredible.

[@oscara.2636]

OK, so if anyone has actually tried deboning a chicken before, you will know that Jacques is absolutely NAILING it here.

[@jeffstockton534]

After he boned out the chicken I was trying to get my mind around that, and then it occurred to me, he'd already prepared the soft shell crabs! Pepin is the GOAT.

[@jessossenkopp]

Exactly. So much went on here and when he went over the menu at the end, I totally forgot he did an entire crab course. I feel so inadequate lmao

[@charlesboucher9533]

Total pro and a great teacher. Ernest home cook for over 20 years now and not a day goes by without employing, technique, recipe, or other information I have learned from this great man.

[@mechanicalman1068]

I’m a pretty experienced cook and good with a knife, and my knives are excellent quality and sharp as a razor. “Should not take you more than a minute and a half” is tough for a home cook, especially if you want it done cleanly. He’s probably done that at least a thousand times. There’s a big difference between a pro and even a highly skilled amateur, no matter what you’re doing. Kind of reminds me of carpentry. I’ve been a finish carpenter for 20 year and I’ve seen some lovely DIY work, but I can almost always spot flaws. Then there’s efficiency. My brother in law trimmed out his house and said “it wasn’t so bad. Only took me a few weeks.” He asked how long it would take me and I told him “about 4 days.” He asked if it would look as good as his in such a short time and I just held my tongue and merely said “yes.” And I’m not Pepin level carpenter.

[@tonyyu3998]

Thank you for such a national treasure in Jacque. May he cook many more meals for his family and friends.

[@jessossenkopp]

Good lord, there was a LOT of skill on display here and with ZERO pretentious energy.

[@Sniperboy5551]

I’ll probably never make this, but I love watching it.

[@nickd3871]

That de-boning of the whole chicken was a master class of culinary technique. It took him about a minute to finish not only cutting it but "scraping and pulling" too.

[@tribalbeat6471]

9:00 absolutely blows me away from the skill of doing this all by hand.

[@desmofan1864]

Oh, SNAP. My chef cousin taught me how to debone/reconstruct the bird in a similar way ages ago (based on a menu item they did in the restaurant he worked at in Montreal), and now I know it's based on Ballotine! It's so much quicker this way, too! 😅 Their way kept the drums and wings (minus the nubbins, as Julia would say) so it was like a sleeper dish, as it looked like a regular roast chicken out of the oven. It was much more involved than the classic version, apparently. Always learning! 🥰

[@billy4072]

That deboning....🐓. 🙀❤️👌😂

[@kyleinokc]

He makes it look so so easy. I think my first time was around 20 minutes. The ballotine is definitely a fun dish to make.

[@jfb.8746]

Holy shit the number of techniques. Un maître en action.

[@RataStuey]

His boning out of the chicken was hypnotic. Such a boss

[@blahdblah0007]

The way he deconstructs that chicken is beautiful. Wow.

[@murathanakordeon]

My grandmother has said in the 80's that they debone a whole chicken without damaging, It was hard to believe.

[@mlss1229]

Impressive deboning

[@mrpiccolo23]

22:38 I agree, I like to "bone in the kitchen." Thanks Pepin!

[@chaddawgpanisi294]

chef Jacques Pepin chef jp master classic video

[@meximick]

I was in awe of his casually excellent deboning skills.

[@connieelrod1498]

He is the Master. And a great man.

[@normlor]

ONE MAIN THING I REALLY LIKE ABOUT JACQUES IS EVEN AS A CHEF, HE NEVER WASTES ANYTHING. SADLY SO MANY ELITE CHESF MAKE BEAUTIFUL PLATES WITH FOWELS LIKE CHICKENS, GEESE, DUCKS, AND TURKEYS BUT JACQUES AND JULIA SAID TO NEVER THROW AWAY ANYTHING. VERY FEW "CHEFS" SUGGEST USING THOSE TASTY ORGANS LIKE MAKING A GIBLET PIE AS MY GRANNY AND MOM DID FOR DECADES AND THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!

[@lburns-oy9dc]

Not true. I worked for years in high-end restaurants and nothing was wasted.

[@charlenegoddard7390]

I am amazed!!!!! Never saw a chef debone like that

[@robertk3918]

Merci beaucoup, Chef!

[@cloudstreets1396]

Even the predator is jealous of the speed and efficiency of how Jaques debones a chicken.

[@evilscience3164]

Such an incredable talent and quite generous to share his recipes. Thank you Jacque.

[@jeffseidl]

This is wild, never seen that done before- can’t wait to try it.

[@33Duce]

Looks so good!

[@sleepn_on_me2473]

He can fart in a bowl and id try it Love how rustic this quality of this video is

[@samanthababe716]

Yummy looks so good.. love you chef ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@inocenciotensygarcia1012]

I loved it!I will try it

[@an0n1m0us5]

@10:50 masterfully done.

[@hihosilver1234]

Hes the best

[@Shazam_24]

Holy shit that carving of the chicken was awesome

[@mikekz4489]

The king!

[@asynchronicity]

Artist🎉

[@jody024]

Just like you take it pajama off, oui chef just like that xD

[@regmik]

What’s the knife (brand and type) master chef is using for deboning the chicken so skillfully?

[@mkehammond7277]

How do you eat the soft shell crab? Compared to other crabs.

[@veridianacarvalho9209]

❤❤❤

[@r.b.ratieta6111]

You can't argue with the French when it comes to cuisine. There's a reason hotels and restaurants around the world brag about having French chefs and French cuisine. Every culture has good food, but you never hear of restaurants bragging about their British food. Gordon Ramsey be damned.

[@kenRoberts1984]

He's hiding that he burnt the chicken LOL

[@M_Ladd]

Just wondering if Jack or anyone received any residuals from all the videos that they have participated in for you guys?

[@huazhang4043]

master

[@loicdomagala8779]

Most of the youtube cooking videos are actually useless to watch, just look at the ingredients and you're done. This old school video is a real cooking video !!

[@Thesilverthunder777]

Mega

[@fredericksantacroce9080]

Did he put the cooked chicken on the unwashed board that he deboned the raw chicken.

[@mrpiccolo23]

Where's the person who's going to ask for Yan Can Cook for the n-th time?

[@joannaedwards6325]

Yes...that gets on my nerves too. Martin Yan makes me nervous. Not soothing like J.P. not a fan.

[@mrpiccolo23]

@@joannaedwards6325 I don't mind Martin Yan. I made a bunch of recipes from his shows about a year ago (Mongolian Beef, General Joe's Chicken). However, then I found the channel 'Chinese Cooking Demystified' and did a few of their recipes (Sichuan Chili Oil, Dan Dan Noodles, Mapo Tofu).

[@joannaedwards6325]

@@mrpiccolo23 Yah, I like the food. Martin Yan... not so much. Tries too hard to seem friendly...but not convincing. Pretty easy for me to recognize sincerity. Jacques Pepin..yes. Julia Child..yes. Sara Moultin..yes. The "Jazzy Vegetarian"..no. M.Y..no.

[@nedhopkins2945]

Apparently blue crabs have become a huge problem in the Mediterranean, there is a huge opportunity right now to introduce them into european cuisine and help control the population.

[@artfulcookingwithdawn9000]

oh, should not have eaten the female crabs, great video anyway Jacques!

[@SP-cp3qu]

n1

[@JamesSmith-fd9gc]

How dare you assume that there male and female. They might not even identify as crabs! Love your shows, grew up watching you and Julia.

[@dianejohnson1375]

We want yan can cook on Monday’s

[@Toxus8]

Imagine getting flayed alive like that, complete with the commentary and all

[@craigbritz1684]

Too much hassle, I woulndt bother.

[@thesweeples3266]

Perhaps you should stick with chicken nuggets and tater tots.