Skip to main content
Main

Potted Partridges

Potted partridges are partridges cooked in a potting jar with spices, butter, water, and lard for preservation.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Potted Partridges

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the partridges in half lengthwise and wipe them with a damp cloth.

  2. Rub the partridges with a mixture of savoury spices and coarse sea salt.

Pot and cook

  1. Pack the partridges closely in a potting jar.

  2. Place 2 tablespoons of butter on top and add 1 cup of water.

  3. Cover the jar tightly and place it in a pot of boiling water.

  4. Cook for 1.5 hours.

Preserve

  1. Cover the partridges with lard or clarified butter for preservation.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Partridges
Provide the main meat, which becomes tender as it cooks slowly in the sealed jar.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, helping the meat stay succulent during the long gentle cook.
Lard or clarified butter
Forms a sealed fat layer over the meat that helps preserve it.

The step that matters

Cover the jar tightly before cooking. A tight seal keeps steam trapped so the partridges cook gently in their own juices and water bath, rather than drying out. A loose lid lets moisture escape and the meat dries.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesBrown BreadBrown Bread461 recipesMutton BrothMutton Broth292 recipesYorkshire PuddingYorkshire Pudding264 recipes