Why it works: Lobster and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,095 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Fillets of Partridges, a LA Prince Albert
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fillets
Fillet the partridges, leaving the pinion bones on the fillets.
Trim the fillets neatly.
Lard the fillets.
Braise
Place the fillets in a sauté pan lined with thin layers of fat bacon.
Moisten the fillets with white wine mirepoix.
Cover the fillets with a round of paper.
Braise the fillets over moderate heat or in the oven until nearly done.
Glaze the fillets.
Plate and serve
Dish the fillets in a close circle.
Place a decorated minion fillet between each fillet.
Fill the center with a ragout of crayfish tails tossed in partridge glaze and lobster coral.
Pour Allemande sauce mixed with partridge juice around the dish.
Serve.
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.
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Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Crayfish + lobstertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together100 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
-
Crayfish + saucetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together195 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
White wine + crayfishtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together85 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
White wine + saucetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together819 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Partridges
- Provide the lean, delicate meat that forms the main dish.
- Fat bacon
- Lines the pan and bastes the meat, adding moisture and savory fat during braising.
- White wine mirepoix
- Moistens the fillets and builds aromatic flavor as the braising liquid.
- Crayfish tails
- Supply the sweet, delicate shellfish flavor of the central ragout.
- Lobster coral
- Adds richness and color to the ragout and the sauce.
- Allemande sauce
- Gives a creamy, velvety sauce that adds richness and moisture to the plate.
The step that matters
Braise the fillets until nearly done. Lean partridge meat dries out quickly. Covering the fillets and stopping at nearly done lets residual heat finish cooking while keeping the meat moist and tender.
“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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