Partridge with Cabbage in a Timbale

Known Ground reconstruction

A buttered heatproof bowl replaces the specialized timbale. A small mild garlic sausage approximates saucisson de Paris without changing the carrot-sausage-bacon decoration. 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. Bard the partridge with bacon and brown it in a hot oven. Put it in a covered pot with cabbage, blanched slab bacon, sausage, carrots, and game stock; braise until the bird reaches 165°F (74°C) and the cabbage is very tender, removing sausage and bacon before they overcook.

2. Cut the cooked carrots and sausage into rounds and the reserved bacon into thin rectangles. Butter a 2-quart round-bottomed heatproof bowl and arrange these pieces decoratively over its bottom and sides.

3. Line the decoration with a thick layer of well-drained cabbage, place the untrussed partridge in the centre, cover with remaining cabbage, press, and heat at 325°F for 5 minutes.

4. Invert onto a platter, drain any escaped fat before lifting the bowl, and surround with demi-glace reduced with game fumet.

Historical source

Quantities, yield, timings, and home-kitchen sequencing below are a modern, untested adaptation built around Escoffier’s named preparation and comparable game-bird technique; they are not original Escoffier measurements.

Le Guide Culinaire — Relevés et entrées de gibier, pp. 895–953.