chicken en croûte

How To Make chicken en croûte

• Step 1
  Brine the chicken for 4 to 6 hours by putting the chicken breasts in a sealed container with the water and salt.
• Step 2
  Use a mandolin to slice the squash and shallots paper-thin. Spread them in a single layer on parchment paper or on a rack, and dehydrate them in the oven at 125 degrees for about 4 hours until they are very dry but still pliable. This way, they keep their color and flavor and don't get mushy.
• Step 3
  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Step 4
  Drain and rinse the chicken, and pound it thin inside of a large plastic Ziploc baggie, or between two sheets of plastic. I use a rolling pin to pound the chicken.
• Step 5
  At this point, you'll want to work fast so that the puff pastry stays very cold before putting it in the oven. Place a sheet of puff pastry on a cutting board or sheet of parchment paper. Spray or brush it very lightly with olive oil - just enough to make the sprinkle of herbs de provenḉe stick. I use a glass olive oil sprayer that can be found online.
• Step 6
  Lay one of the pounded thin chicken breasts lengthwise across the middle of the puff pastry. Think of it as a football field. You will want to leave about half an inch on each goal post side of the puff pastry free to pinch it together.
• Step 7
  Spray or brush the chicken very lightly with some olive oil, then sprinkle the chicken with herbs de provenḉe and a pinch of white pepper.
• Step 8
  Pile half of the dehydrated vegetables across the chicken breast, and tamp them down lightly so that the package will easily seal up.
• Step 9
  Sprinkle with a little more herbs de provenḉe and a pinch of white pepper.
• Step 10
  Fold the long edges together, and pinch to seal completely. Then pinch the goal post sides closed.
• Step 11
  Carefully turn the pastry over, and make sure there are no cracks anywhere. The pastry should completely enclose the chicken and vegetables.
• Step 12
  At this point, the package should be seam side down. So inside of it, the vegetables are at the bottom, and the chicken is on top. Cut a few slits, or poke a fork a few times to allow the steam to escape.
• Step 13
  Repeat the process for the 2nd puff pastry sheet and chicken breast. If you're making more than two packages for a large gathering, you can do this ahead of time and refrigerate. To make that work, just be sure that the chicken has been patted dry or allowed to dry a bit in the refrigerator. It is important to put the puff pastry in the oven when it is quite cold. In fact, frozen is best. You could put it in the freezer, but be careful not to also freeze the chicken inside of it.
• Step 14
  If you want to get fancy, you can cut some pretty shapes from a third puff pastry sheet or shell to place on top, being careful not to cover your ventilation slits.
• Step 15
  Bake the packages on parchment paper at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes or until a temperature probe inserted into the center shows 160 degrees F. I use a toaster oven with a thermometer for all my baking, but I'm just one person in the house. Be sure to check the temperature of all the packages. Once the chicken is up to 160, take the packages out of the oven and allow them to rest for 10 minutes or so before serving.
• Step 16
  Serve with a simple side salad - just butter lettuce with a spray of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt is quite delicious.
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