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Boudin Op Pheasant a LA Richelieu

A pheasant-based boudin (sausage) seasoned with mace, nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, 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 Op Pheasant a LA Richelieu

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Mince and pound the pheasant flesh to a smooth paste.

  2. Add the roasted or boiled potatoes and blend well.

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

  4. Pound the mixture for 10-15 minutes, keeping it centered in the mortar.

  5. Add the eggs one at a time, removing the germs with a fork.

Poach and coat

  1. Shape the mixture into a roll and place it 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 cool.

  4. Cover with beaten egg and then with bread crumbs.

Finish

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

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 structure.
Potatoes
Adds starch and body, helping the mixture hold together and stay soft.
Fresh butter
Adds richness and moisture, giving the filling a smooth, tender texture.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and set when heated, holding the roll together.
Egg yolks
Add richness and help bind the filling into a smooth mixture.

The step that matters

Pounding the mixture evenly. Keeping the mixture centered and well worked develops a smooth, cohesive texture. Eggs added gradually bind evenly, while uneven mixing can leave the roll loose or grainy when poached.

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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