Chef Juliette
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Perdreau à la Lautrec
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1867, Perdreau à la Lautrec, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A butter-brushed young partridge, opened down the back and grilled flat until evenly bronzed, with mushroom caps carrying maître d’hôtel butter, lemon, and a fine gleam of meat glaze.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Quick Meal
30 min
Active Time
25 min cook•55 min total
Yield4 servings
Perdreau à la Lautrec (young partridge grilled flat with mushrooms and maître d’hôtel butter) teaches the discipline of evenness. The one true thing to know before you touch a pan is this: a small game bird cooks beautifully only when its joints and breast meet the heat on the same plane. Open it down the back and flatten it gently; without that, the breast dries while the hip stays raw.
The original entry assumed a grillardin tending charcoal, a saucier beside a stockpot never off the fire, and a salamander ready if the colour lagged. At home, a broiler set well below its element supplies measured overhead heat, while a small quantity of good unseasoned meat glaze replaces the brigade’s daily reduction. The standing stockpot and the handoffs are scaffolding, so they go. The open-backed bird, gentle grilling, six mushroom caps, maître d’hôtel butter, lemon, and the fine line of glaze stay because they are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
At the table, the skin is bronze and glossy, the mushrooms are tender rather than collapsed, and the compound butter begins melting into their hollows. Don’t pound the bird thin. Press only until the breastbone and hips lie level; that even plane is the step that decides the dish.
Perdreau à la Lautrec belongs to the classical Parisian dining-room repertoire, where young game birds were grilled to order and sent out with named garnitures. Despite the title, it is not a regional formula rooted in the town of Lautrec in the Tarn: its grammar is the national canon, and its identifying arrangement is six grilled mushroom caps carrying maître d’hôtel butter, edged with meat glaze and sharpened by lemon. The preparation traveled easily to private tables because its luxury lies in exact handling rather than elaborate abundance.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
young partridges
Quantity
4 (12 to 16 oz / 340 to 450 g each)
plucked and oven-ready
fine sea salt for the partridges
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g)
freshly ground black pepper for the partridges
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g)
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g)
melted
small button mushroom caps
Quantity
24 (about 10 oz / 285 g)
stems removed
unsalted butter for the maître d’hôtel butter
Quantity
6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (100 ml / 95 g)
softened but still cool
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g)
finely chopped
fresh lemon juice for the maître d’hôtel butter
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g)
fine sea salt for the maître d’hôtel butter
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g)
freshly ground black pepper for the maître d’hôtel butter
Quantity
1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.25 g)
unseasoned meat glaze
Quantity
1/4 cup (60 ml / 70 g)
warmed
water (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
only if needed to loosen the meat glaze
fresh lemon juice for finishing
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| young partridgesplucked and oven-ready | 4 (12 to 16 oz / 340 to 450 g each) |
| fine sea salt for the partridges | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper for the partridges | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g) |
| unsalted buttermelted | 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) |
| small button mushroom capsstems removed | 24 (about 10 oz / 285 g) |
| unsalted butter for the maître d’hôtel buttersoftened but still cool | 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (100 ml / 95 g) |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g) |
| fresh lemon juice for the maître d’hôtel butter | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 10 g) |
| fine sea salt for the maître d’hôtel butter | 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml / 1.5 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper for the maître d’hôtel butter | 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml / 0.25 g) |
| unseasoned meat glazewarmed | 1/4 cup (60 ml / 70 g) |
| water (optional)only if needed to loosen the meat glaze | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| fresh lemon juice for finishing | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Poultry shears
- •Smooth-faced meat mallet or rolling pin
- •Four 10-inch (25 cm) metal skewers
- •Heavy 18 by 13-inch (46 by 33 cm) rimmed baking sheet
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Small saucepan
Instructions
- 1
Make the maître d’hôtel
Work the softened butter with the parsley, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper until evenly flecked but not whipped. Portion it into 24 level teaspoonfuls and chill them while you prepare the birds. The butter should be cool enough to sit on the mushrooms, yet soft enough to begin melting on contact; if it becomes oily while you mix, chill it for ten minutes and continue.
- 2
Open the partridges
Pat each partridge completely dry. Set it breast-side down and use poultry shears to cut through the ribs along one side of the backbone from tail to neck, then open the bird like a book while keeping the breast intact. Turn it breast-side up, cover it with parchment, and give the breastbone and hip joints two or three measured blows with the smooth face of a mallet until the bird lies in one even plane. Flatten the frame, not the flesh.
- 3
Skewer and season
Pass one long metal skewer crosswise through both thighs and the lower body of each partridge so it remains open under the heat, then tuck the wing tips underneath. Brush both sides generously with melted butter and season with the 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. If the skin has split, lay it back over the flesh and secure it beneath the skewer; it will protect the meat as it cooks.
- 4
Begin the gentle grill
Set an oven rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below the broiler and preheat it at medium-high for ten minutes. Arrange the partridges opened-side up on a large heavy baking sheet, leaving air between them, and place the mushroom caps rounded-side up around the birds. Broil for 6 to 7 minutes, until the exposed flesh has taken light colour and the mushroom crowns begin to bronze.
- 5
Turn and finish
Turn the partridges skin-side toward the heat, turn the mushrooms hollow-side up, and brush the birds again with the butter collected on the tray. Continue broiling gently for 7 to 11 minutes, removing the mushrooms as soon as they are tender and bronzed. The partridges are ready when the skin is deep gold and an instant-read thermometer reaches 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part of the thigh without touching bone. If the skin browns before the meat is ready, cover it loosely with foil and lower the tray one level. Ça se rattrape. If the meat reaches temperature while the skin remains pale, move the tray closer for 30 seconds, watching without distraction.
- 6
Ready the glaze
Warm the meat glaze over low heat while the birds finish. It should fall from a spoon in a fine, continuous thread rather than sit like paste. If it is too tight, whisk in the water one teaspoon at a time; if it is too loose, simmer it briefly until the spoon leaves a clean wake across the saucepan. Keep it warm without boiling hard, which would make it harsh and overly salty.
- 7
Rest and dish
Rest the partridges for 5 minutes, then place one bird on each warm plate. Set three mushroom caps on either side of every bird and crown each cap with one level teaspoon of maître d’hôtel butter. Draw a fine thread of warm meat glaze around the mushrooms, never a moat, and sprinkle a few drops of the remaining lemon juice over each partridge. Serve as the compound butter begins to soften. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Young is a cooking instruction, not decoration. Look for a small bird with flexible joints and a plump breast; a mature partridge belongs in a braise because this quick grill gives tougher muscle nowhere to hide.
- •Frozen young partridge is an honest choice when fresh game is unavailable. Thaw it slowly in the cold, then leave it uncovered for several hours so the skin dries and browns cleanly.
- •Use an unseasoned meat glaze with a clear roasted flavour. Many shelf-stable concentrates are mostly salt, and reducing one only makes the problem louder. You need enough body to draw a thread, not enough salt to season the whole plate.
- •Six mushrooms per bird and one teaspoon of maître d’hôtel butter on each are the source proportions. Keep them. The mushrooms are not a loose garnish; they carry the compound butter that seasons each mouthful.
- •Pour a light red Burgundy or a cru Beaujolais with this. The wine needs enough freshness for the lemon and butter, but not so much weight that the small game bird disappears beneath it.
- •Leftover partridge keeps for up to two days in the cold. Reheat it covered at gentle heat with a spoonful of water, but make fresh mushrooms if you can; their texture is the first thing reheating takes away.
Advance Preparation
- •The maître d’hôtel butter can be mixed and portioned up to three days ahead. Keep it covered in the cold and bring it out only when the hot mushroom caps are ready.
- •The partridges can be opened, flattened, and skewered up to eight hours ahead. Keep them uncovered on a tray in the cold so their surfaces dry, then season and butter them immediately before cooking.
- •The meat glaze can be measured earlier in the day and held in its saucepan. Warm it only while the birds cook, then correct its consistency with a few drops of water if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 285g)
Calories
685 calories
Total Fat
42 g
Saturated Fat
21 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
19 g
Cholesterol
235 mg
Sodium
1500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
71 g
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