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House Lamb

A lamb saddle stuffed with foie gras and truffles, braised in Marsala wine and bacon rind.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Lamb and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,165 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

House Lamb

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the lamb

  1. Bone the saddle of lamb from underneath, keeping the skin intact.

  2. Season the inside with salt and pepper.

  3. Place foie gras studded with truffles in the center.

  4. Reconstruct the saddle and wrap it tightly in muslin.

Poach

  1. Place it in a saucepan on a layer of blanched bacon rind.

  2. Cover with braising liquid and add Marsala wine.

  3. Poach for about 45 minutes, ensuring foie gras is cooked.

Set and serve

  1. Remove muslin and place saddle in a terrine.

  2. Strain cooking liquid over the saddle and let it cool.

  3. Once cold, remove grease with a spoon and boiling water.

  4. Serve cold in the terrine.

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. Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,165 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  2. Lamb + truffletop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together134 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + winetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,066 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Truffle + winetop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together344 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethylphenol (must).

  5. Pepper + truffletop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,106 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Foie gras
Melts into the meat during poaching, adding richness and a silky, buttery texture.
Saddle of lamb
Forms the main structure that encloses the stuffing and provides the meaty body of the dish.
Truffles
Contribute a deep, earthy aroma that complements the rich foie gras.
Marsala wine
Adds sweetness and aromatic depth to the poaching liquid.
Braising liquid
Gently moistens and cooks the lamb, keeping it tender during poaching.

The step that matters

Poaching the wrapped saddle. Poaching must be gentle and steady; a rolling boil can toughen the lamb and break up the foie gras. The foie gras must reach a safe cooked state, so the wrapped roll needs to stay fully submerged and cook through for the full time.

“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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