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Boudin of Pheasant a LA Richelieu

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 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 the pheasant flesh and pound it to a smooth paste.

  2. Add an equal volume of the floury part of roasted or boiled potatoes and blend the mixture well.

  3. Incorporate fresh butter, mace, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt.

  4. Pound the mixture for 10-15 minutes.

  5. Add the eggs one at a time, then the yolks one at a time, and mix until combined.

Poach the roll

  1. Shape the mixture into a roll and place it in a buttered saucepan.

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

  3. Carefully lift the roll out of the water and drain it on a sieve until cool.

Coat and finish

  1. Cover the roll with beaten egg, then with bread crumbs.

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

  3. Serve with gravy made from the remains of the bird, enhanced with ham and shallots.

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
Forms the main body of the roll and gives it its meaty flavour and firm texture.
Potatoes
Adds starch and body, helping the mixture hold together and stay moist.
Fresh butter
Adds richness and moisture, softening the texture of the filling.
Eggs
Bind the mixture as they set, giving the roll structure when poached.
Egg yolks
Add richness and extra binding, making the filling smoother and more tender.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp outer crust that browns when broiled or fried.

The step that matters

Poaching the roll gently. Eggs set as they heat, so boiling water or vigorous heat can make the roll swell, crack, or turn rubbery. Gentle poaching keeps the proteins tender and the roll intact.

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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