Name: Boudins of Partridges, a LA D’orsay
Ingredients: fillets of 3 partridges; 2 ounces French truffles, diced; 2 ounces mushrooms, diced; 2 ounces red tongue, diced; 2 ounces dressed calf’s-udder, diced; 1 large spoonful puree of mushrooms; buttered paper; boiling broth

Why it works: Truffle and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,900 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Boudins of Partridges, a LA D’orsay

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

Prepare quenelle force‑meat with the fillets of the partridges.
Mix the diced truffles, mushrooms, red tongue, and calf’s udder with the puree of mushrooms into the force‑meat.

Shape and poach

Mould the mixture into three oblong boudins, about 6 inches long and 2 inches square.
Place the boudins on buttered paper on a stewpan lid.
Slip them into a stewpan with boiling broth and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
Once cooked through, drain the boudins.

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.

Truffle + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,900 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Fillets of partridges: Form the lean, tender body of the force‑meat that holds the boudins together.
French truffles: Add a concentrated, earthy aroma that stands out in the mild meat.
Mushrooms: Add moisture and savoury depth to the filling.
Red tongue: Adds a firm, meaty texture that contrasts with the smooth force‑meat.
Calf’s udder: Adds a soft, rich texture and savoury flavour to the filling.

The step that matters

Simmering the boudins gently. Boiling can split the delicate force‑meat and make the boudins tough or crumbly, so keep the broth at a gentle simmer while they cook through.

“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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Boudins of Partridges, a LA D’orsay