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Boudin of Pheasant a LA Richelieu

A pheasant sausage made with roasted 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 roasted or boiled potato until well blended.

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

  4. Pound for 10-15 minutes.

  5. Incorporate the eggs and yolks one at a time, ensuring the mixture isn't too moist.

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 cold.

  4. Cover with beaten egg.

  5. Cover with bread crumbs.

Cook 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, 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 boudin and gives it its meaty flavour and structure.
Potatoes
Its starch adds body and softness, helping the mixture hold together and stay tender.
Fresh butter
Adds richness and moisture, keeping the cooked filling smooth and tender.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and set when poached, giving the roll a firm but tender texture.

The step that matters

Keeping the mixture not too moist. Excess liquid makes the filling loose, so it may split or fail to hold its shape during poaching. Adding the eggs gradually lets you judge the consistency and stop before it becomes wet.

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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