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Cardinal Lobster Boudin

A lobster-based sausage made with cream, spawn, egg, and seasonings, steamed in a boudin mold.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Lobster and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,050 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Cardinal Lobster Boudin

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Pound the chopped lobster in a mortar.

  2. Gradually add double cream until well combined.

  3. Mix in enough lobster spawn to achieve desired color.

  4. Add the egg and season with salt and pepper.

  5. Pass the mixture through a wire sieve.

Cook and serve

  1. Fill the boudin mould and steam until cooked.

  2. Serve with sauce.

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. Lobster + creamtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  2. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Lobster + peppertop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,247 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

  5. Lobster + eggtop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,484 recipes

    Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Lobster
Provides the main flavor and the firm, sweet meat that forms the body of the boudin.
Double cream
Adds fat and moisture, giving the mixture a smooth, rich, tender texture.
Egg
Binds the mixture so it holds its shape and sets when steamed.
Lobster spawn
Colors the mixture and adds a concentrated shellfish flavor.

The step that matters

Passing the mixture through a wire sieve. Pounding shredded lobster with cream leaves fibrous bits and lumps that make the texture grainy. Sieving removes them, producing a smooth, even mousseline-like filling that sets evenly without curdling or holes.

“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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