Ingredients for the Known Ground reconstruction
Ingredient amounts shown for 4 servings.
Known Ground reconstruction
- 4whole young partridges, breasts, minion fillets, legs, and carcasses separated
- 4 tbspunsalted butter, melted; divided
- 1 cupfine breadcrumbs
- 1egg, beaten
- 4 ozfresh black truffle, finely chopped
- 3 cupsgame stock
- 1 cupdemi-glace
- 2 cupschestnut purée
- kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
Mousseline cutlets
- 1egg white, very cold
- 1/2 cupheavy cream, very cold
Known Ground reconstruction
Small silicone oval molds replace tin cutlet molds. The two preparations remain visually and texturally distinct rather than becoming a single breaded cutlet. This version has not been personally tested by Known Ground. Cook the bird and any poultry forcemeat to 165°F (74°C) in its thickest portion.
Instructions
1. Keep the breast fillets with their wing bones attached. Process the minion fillets and leg meat with salt, pepper, egg white, and cold cream; fill eight small buttered oval molds and poach in a 325°F water bath to 165°F (74°C). Unmold.
2. Brush the breast fillets with melted butter, coat with breadcrumbs, and grill gently until they reach 165°F (74°C).
3. Dip the molded mousseline cutlets in beaten egg, coat firmly with chopped truffle, reshape, and sauté gently in butter until hot and set.
4. Simmer the carcasses in stock, strain, and reduce with demi-glace to a coulis. Alternate breast fillets and truffle cutlets in a circle, pour coulis in the centre, and serve chestnut purée separately.
Historical formula
Method
Raise the young partridge’s fillets, leaving the wing-bone attached to the carcass, and put them aside. From the minion fillets and the meat of the legs, prepare a _mousseline_ forcemeat; mould the latter in very small buttered cutlet moulds, and set to poach.
Roll the fillets in melted butter and bread-crumbs, and grill them gently. Dip the cutlets in beaten egg; roll them in finely-chopped truffles; press upon the latter with the flat of a knife, that they may combine with the egg; adjust the shape of the cutlets, and toss them in butter.
Dish in the form of a circle, alternating the fillets and the cutlets; pour in their midst a cullis prepared from the partridge’s carcasses, and serve a chestnut purée separately.
Source
A Guide to Modern Cookery — Recipe no. 1871.
Updated since publication
Last revised 8/21/2026. Evidence and limitations should be interpreted as described in the article.
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