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Whiting Forcemeat, Boudins of

Seafood forcemeat boudins filled with shrimp, mussels, or oysters in allemande sauce, served with clear lemon gravy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Whiting and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 236 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Whiting Forcemeat, Boudins of

Ingredients

Directions

Shape and fill

  1. Shape the whiting forcemeat into oval cutlets, 2.5 inches long, 1.5 inches wide, and 1.75 inches thick.

  2. Place the cutlets on strips of oiled paper, 0.75 inches larger than the cutlets.

  3. Make a hollow in the center of each cutlet, the size of a coin and 0.75 inches deep.

  4. Fill the hollows with diced shrimps, mussels, or oysters mixed with stiff allemande sauce.

  5. Cover the filling completely with forcemeat.

Poach and serve

  1. About 15 minutes before serving, gently drop the boudins into hot, slightly salted water and simmer until set.

  2. Drain the boudins and arrange them in a circle on a hot dish.

  3. Pour allemande or ravigote sauce over the boudins and serve.

  4. Serve with clear gravy flavored with lemon juice.

Variation

  1. For variety, brush the boudins with egg, roll in bread crumbs, and broil over a moderate fire.

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Whiting + saucetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together236 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  3. Whiting + shrimptop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together65 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Shrimp + saucetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,423 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Shrimp + breadtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together360 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Whiting forcemeat
Forms the delicate shell that holds the filling and sets when poached.
Shrimps, mussels, or oysters
Provide the flavorful seafood filling that contrasts with the mild forcemeat.
Allemande sauce
Binds the diced seafood into a stiff filling and adds richness.
Egg
Gives a glossy surface and helps bread crumbs adhere for browning.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, browned coating when broiled.

The step that matters

Simmer until set. The boudins must be gently simmered in water that is hot but not boiling. Vigorous boiling can break the delicate forcemeat and let the filling escape, while gentle heat lets the whiting proteins set evenly around the filling.

“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.

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