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Boudin of Pheasant a LA Richelieu

A pheasant boudin made with pheasant flesh, potato, butter, spices, eggs, and bread crumbs, poached and then browned.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Mace and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Boudin of Pheasant a LA Richelieu

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Mince and pound the pheasant flesh to a smooth paste.

  2. Mix in the floury part of the potatoes until well blended.

  3. Add fresh butter, mace, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt; pound for 10-15 minutes.

  4. Add eggs one at a time, ensuring the mixture remains firm.

Poach and coat

  1. Shape into a roll and place in a buttered stewpan.

  2. Pour boiling water over it and poach gently for 10-15 minutes.

  3. Carefully lift it out and drain on a sieve until cool.

  4. Coat with beaten egg and then with bread crumbs.

Finish and serve

  1. Broil over a clear fire or fry in butter until golden brown.

  2. Serve with gravy made from the remains of the pheasant.

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. Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,052 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Pheasant flesh
Provides the main body and savoury flavour of the boudin.
Potatoes
Adds bulk and a soft, tender texture to the pounded filling.
Fresh butter
Adds richness and moistness to the smooth filling.
Eggs
Bind the mixture so it holds its shape during poaching.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, golden browned outer coating when fried or broiled.

The step that matters

Adding the eggs. Eggs set when heated and bind the filling; adding them too quickly or with the mixture too loose can make the roll soft and likely to break during poaching.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pheasant, potato, butter, nutmeg, egg, bread):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Cinnamonfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pheasant, potato, butter, nutmeg, egg, bread. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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