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 Op Pheasant a LA Richelieu
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mixture
Mince and pound the pheasant flesh to a smooth paste.
Mix in the floury part of the potatoes until well blended.
Add fresh butter, mace, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt; pound for 10-15 minutes.
Remove germs from eggs with a fork, then add eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing well.
Poach
Shape the mixture into a roll and place it in a buttered stewpan.
Pour boiling water over it and poach gently for 10-15 minutes.
Carefully lift it out and drain on a sieve until cool.
Coat and cook
Cover with beaten egg and then with bread crumbs.
Broil over a clear fire or fry in butter until golden brown.
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.
-
Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,052 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Forms the main body of the sausage and gives it its meaty flavour and structure.
- Potatoes
- Floury starch helps bind the mixture and keeps the sausage tender and moist.
- Fresh butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, moister texture in the finished sausage.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture together and help it set firm when poached.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and help bind the mixture while keeping it smooth.
The step that matters
Poaching gently. Water at a hard boil can break up the delicate egg-bound mixture and make it crumble. A gentle poach lets the eggs set evenly so the roll holds its shape.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pheasant, potato, butter, nutmeg, egg, bread):
- Parsleyfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Thymefits better
- 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.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Brown Bread461 recipes
Potato Croquettes255 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Potato Rolls78 recipes