# Is there an English word for this French cooking technique? (Poêler)



## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

I cannot find the English translation for the French word "Poêler". It describes a classic French cooking technique for a big piece of meat, typically a whole poultry like a chicken, although it can be applied to all sorts of roasts.

The technique is:

In a pot large enough to contain the chicken, place aromatic vegetables (carrots, oninons, celery) at the bottom and place the chicken on top. Cover the chicken with melted butter. Place the lid on the pot and cook in the 350F oven. Remove lid toward the end of cooking to color the chicken.

Have any of you ever tried this technique, and are you familiar with the French word, or is there an English equivalent?

Thanks!


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Yes.  Poele.

BDL


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## cabotvt (May 5, 2009)

I think poele means to fry, whatever it's Latin that I 99% sure. English for the chicken is: baking it with vegetables. Could be boasting, we Americans don't have all those fancy french terms. We cook stuff, in the oven and everything gest Ketchup. 

You guys kill me I'm mean that very respectfully


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Yes Chef BDL,

Poele: "A cooking method in which the item is cooked in its own juices , in a covered pot, and it is usually done in the oven."

Also known as " pot roasting "

and "Butter roasting".

Our family cooks chicken  this way alot as it locks in the juice and the chicken is very moist.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Thanks a lot BDL - and petals. I couldn't find the word in any English dictionaries. Is it a noun or a verb?

Funny then, it's one more "faux ami": a word that's the same as the French word, but has a different meaning - since in French "poêle" (the noun) can mean either a stove (typically an old, wood stove - my grand mother had a poêle, but I don't think I've ever seen or heard of one since she passed), or a frying pan. Only "poêler" (the verb) describes the cooking technique.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Since it's a french word, Latin seems reasonable as an origin. A relationship to the Spanish "paella" also seems reasonable.

Alright, so I'm toyin' with y'all.

The OE (Online Etymology Dictionary) lists "patella" which, in Latin, means "pan" as the root for both poele and patella. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Catalan

The OE is not the OED (unabrdiged Oxford English Dictionary). Speaking of which, the OED does not have the origin in its listing for poele, but also brings up poele in its paella entry. That's unsurprising as the OE is drawn from the OED. FWIW, the OED has the first English reference for poele in an 1830 Cooking Dictionary.

Merriam-Websters Unabridged (2003) does not list poele.

No. The OED is not available online -- at least not for free. Neither is M-W Unabridged, I think.

Would someone have a copy of the Gastronomique available?

BDL


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

boar_d_laze said:


> Would someone have a copy of the Gastronomique available?
> 
> BDL


Interesting to look at the history of a word! I looked up the (free, online) French Academy dictionary, the official source for French language. Here's what I found:

poêle: n. f. XII[sup]e [/sup]siècle, _paielle, _puis _paelle _; XVII[sup]e [/sup]siècle, _poêle_. Issu du latin _patella, _« patelle, petit plat servant aux sacrifices », lui-même dérivé de _patina_, « plat creux ».

So the origin is the latin word "patella", which was a little dish used for sacrifices, and which itself comes from "patina", a hollow dish.


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## philosophos (Jun 22, 2010)

To add to the confusion: I thought patella was the latin for knee bone? And patina described light oxidization on a metal or wood surface?

The best I can do is "pet-" as the origin for "pan" as a proto-Indo-European with the meaning of spreading or stretching something.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Philosophos said:


> To add to the confusion: I thought patella was the latin for knee bone? And patina described light oxidization on a metal or wood surface?


For some reason, both have the same origin:

Main Entry: *pa·tel·la*

Pronunciation: \pə-ˈte-lə\

Function: _noun_

Inflected Form(s): _plural_ *pa·tel·lae* \-ˈte-(ˌ)lē, -ˌlī\ _or_ *pa·tel·las*

Etymology: Latin, from diminutive of *patina *shallow dish



> Originally Posted by *Philosophos*
> 
> And patina described light oxidization on a metal or wood surface?


My guess is that name comes from seeing the phenomenon in a pan.


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

Poele the technique vs. Poele the pan.  You see this a lot in french, the pot that a dish (or type of dish) is prepared in becomes synonymous with the dish itself.  Cassarole, marmite, terrine, all examples of the same.

Poele (the pan) generally refers to one that's heavy and black, cast iron for example.  The technique is ideally suited for meats that you don't want to braise (too "good" of a cut) but straight up roasting could pose a problem for even cooking.  Whole duckling is well suited to this method.

--Al


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

AllanMcPherson said:


> Poele the technique vs. Poele the pan. You see this a lot in french, the pot that a dish (or type of dish) is prepared in becomes synonymous with the dish itself.


You're right in the examples you give (except casserole, which in French is a pot but not a type of dish), but in the case of Poêle, they're not synonymous: Poêle is the pan, Poêler is the cooking technique. Notice the "r" at the end? That makes the first a noun and the second a verb. Two different words.


> Originally Posted by *AllanMcPherson*
> 
> Poele (the pan) generally refers to one that's heavy and black, cast iron for example.


Actually if we're still talking about the French language, it refers to any pan, independently of color, weight or material.


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## cabotvt (May 5, 2009)

Ok I got it, poele is a chicken with knee caps cooking in butter out in the vegetable garden while it's mother was in latin class. 

 This site is a hoot


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

F.F.

Thanks for the refinement.  At the end of the day, I think you get my gist. 

--Al

(PS --my description of the poele (as a pan) came from only one source -- a chef from Normandy so patently authoritative that I would never consider that him describing something in the specific could actually be more general.)


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

I see what you mean. I knew a French chef who would actually call all his non-stick pans "tefal". As in "bring me a tefal", or "that tefal is a bit tired". /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


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## iplaywithfire (Jul 5, 2010)

> Since it's a french word, Latin seems reasonable as an origin. A relationship to the Spanish "paella" also seems reasonable.
> 
> Alright, so I'm toyin' with y'all.
> 
> ...


It just so happens that I do. There's no mention of poele, but there IS an entry of poelon. A poelon is a "small, long-handled saucepan, often with a lid". The entry also mentions its use as a braising vessel, or for other slow cooking methods in general. From the sounds of it, the other posters are on the mark. Cooking in it's own juice (au jus, of course), in a specialized container, is probably what the term means. I'm thinking it's something along the same lines as a dutch-oven technique, but always moist.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I am from Brooklyn, and I will call it braising for ease of conversation.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

If poeling is braising, it's a very specifc type of braising. The brasing liquid, such as it is, is butter. Mmmmmm butter. Sometimes it's mixed with more butter. Sometimes bacon is added, just in case.

The item to be cooked -- usually a whole bird -- is placed on a layer of chopped vegetables (sometimes raw, sometimes already sweated -- and a lot like _mirepoix_) called _matignon_ in a heavy, covered pan, which I believe is sometimes also called a _matignon _itself. The item is roasted, covered, and occasionally basted during the cooking. The cover is removed and the item browned.

The item is removed. This and that is sometimes added to the matignon (artichoke bottoms, for instance), along with a flavorful liquid such as stock and/or wine; and all is reduced to a sauce while the item rests. Et la!

For chicken, one of my favorites is to add (cooked) sunchokes or artichoke bottoms to the (cooked) matignon along with a bit of tomato paste, and a pinch of pimenton. After the paste is dissolved and the "raw" cooked off a bit, add some white wine. Simmer. Then, when the sauce tightens, sqeeze in plenty of lemon juice along with a healthy fistfull of parsley. After plating (puddle of jus, veg in the puddle, bird on the veg, bird glazed with jus) dust the bird and the plate rim with more pimenton.

You can think of _matignon_ as leeks, carrots, and celery, cut in a way that is meant to be presented and eaten; seasoned lightly with salt, pepper, a bay leaf, and perhaps a sprig of thyme; sauteed or pan roasted; and served as garnish. In other words, _mirepoix_ in a cocktail dress.

I don't want to get too deeply into _poeleing_, because other people have significanlty more experience with the method. Also, I may be dead wrong about the pan's name. My kitchen French, which is far better than my (non-existent) conversational French, so sucks (_c'est tres execrable_). I learned it from an Austrian.

We need foodpump to jump into this discussion. The whole poele thing was extensively covered in his (Swiss) academic, culinary training and he knows a lot about it.

If they call this "braising" in Brooklyn, why did the Dodgers come out here?

BDL


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

The neigborhood changed, and they knocked down Ebbets Field.,to build projects.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

_they knocked down Ebbets Field.,to build projects._

And before that they'd changed the transportation system. With no trolley's running through the outfield there was no justification for their name. So who cared if they'd stayed around or not. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lookaround.gif


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## amar mehta (May 30, 2016)

That technique doesn't necessarily need to be done in the oven. basting the meat in butter and/or its own juices can be done on the stovetop too. I do that quite often with boneless skinless chicken breasts.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

Amar Mehta said:


> That technique doesn't necessarily need to be done in the oven. basting the meat in butter and/or its own juices can be done on the stovetop too. I do that quite often with boneless skinless chicken breasts.


Yeah that's not what I'm talking about here though.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

I was taught that the technique is poêlage and that it is


petalsandcoco said:


> " pot roasting "


As for a direct translation or English word...ain't got a clue. I have heard it described as a steam saute or a fat braise by some kitchen oldtimers.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

The technique seems more suitable for cooking a whole poultry, especially something like for example guinea fowl or maybe even a veal roast, so as to avoid the drying out they would suffer if you were to simply roast them.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

French Fries said:


> @cheflayne, in French, a "poêle" (noun) is a pan. Turn that noun into a verb ("poêler") and you have a verb that means "to cook in a pan."


Thanks, but I already knew that. I spent the first 10 years of my career in kitchens run by Europeans and with brigades of predominately Europeans (probably half were French). I was taught the technique that you are referring to, and was also taught that it was known as poelage.

My copy of The New Larousse Gastronomique by Montagne (Crown Publishers) when talking about the technique uses the term poelage (pot roasting). My copy of The Great Book of French Cuisine by Pellaprat (Viking Press) when talking about the technique uses the term a la poele. My copy of Le Guide Culinaire by Escoffier (Mayflower Books) when talking about the technique uses the term poeling. My copy of The Escoffier Cookbook by Escoffier (Crown Publishers) when talking about the technique uses the term poeles.

At any rate.. 


French Fries said:


> Have any of you ever tried this technique, and are you familiar with the French word, or is there an English equivalent?


Yes I am very familiar with the technique, but no I do not know an English equivalent.


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## french fries (Sep 5, 2008)

cheflayne said:


> Thanks, but I already knew that.


Oops, my apologies, I completely misread the first sentence of your post as an answer to the one before it (this thread is... 6 years old!). I now understand the quote you're referring to with "pot roast".


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