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Based on No. 1872, Timbale de Perdreau Diane, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Truffle crescents reveal a silken partridge timbale filled with tiny quenelles, mushrooms, and Madeira-bound game, then crowned with freshly roasted suprêmes and ringed with glossy Diane sauce.
Timbale de Perdreau Diane (moulded partridge timbale with truffles and Diane sauce) teaches the discipline of gentle heat. Before you touch a pan, know this: the bain-marie, the hot-water bath, must barely shiver. A boil squeezes fat and juices from the forcemeat, then the shell weeps, shrinks, and may fall when unmoulded.
The original entry assumed a saucier on staff, game stock never off the fire, a roasting spit, and a kitchen where the salamander stood ready, even though this dish asks for the oven's gentlest heat rather than its fiercest. Your home equivalent is one reduced game-and-Madeira foundation divided in two: one part binds the quenelles, while the other becomes Diane sauce with cream, truffle juice, and butter. A conventional oven supplies both the gentle poach and the fresh roast for the suprêmes, the breast fillets. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The brigade's separate sauce stations and service choreography are scaffolding, so they go. The truffle-lined mould, raw partridge forcemeat, layer of game gratin forcemeat from Gratins (No. 268), small truffled quenelles, and crown of freshly roasted suprêmes are the dish, so they stay. Keep the paste cold, then keep the water calm. That is the work that matters most.
Timbale de Perdreau Diane belongs to the Parisian classical game table, where the name Diane, the huntress, signals a preparation of game, truffles, and a rich accompanying sauce. Here timbale names the moulded form rather than a pastry case: partridge appears first as a truffle-scaled poached forcemeat, then again as roast breast suprêmes arranged in a crown. The dish passed into bourgeoise celebration cooking by keeping that contrast of smooth forcemeat and freshly roasted game, even when a household had one oven instead of a brigade.
Quantity
8 (about 1¼ pounds / 560 g)
chilled
Quantity
1 pound 2 ounces (500 g)
kept very cold
Quantity
7 ounces (200 g)
kept very cold
Quantity
2 (about 1 pound / 450 g)
chopped
Quantity
9 tablespoons (135 ml / 128 g)
divided
Quantity
2 medium (about ½ cup / 120 ml / 80 g)
thinly sliced
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 350 g)
Quantity
4 cups (960 ml / 960 g)
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g)
divided
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g)
Quantity
4 (about ½ cup / 120 ml / 120 g)
divided
Quantity
4 whole (about 4 ounces / 115 g)
drained; 55 g cut into crescents, 15 g minced, 30 g sliced, and 15 g julienned; juice reserved
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
Quantity
4½ teaspoons (22 ml / 27 g)
divided
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g)
divided
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 115 g)
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 170 g)
quartered
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| skin-on partridge breast suprêmeschilled | 8 (about 1¼ pounds / 560 g) |
| boneless, skinless partridge meat for the lining forcemeatkept very cold | 1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) |
| boneless, skinless partridge meat for the truffled quenelleskept very cold | 7 ounces (200 g) |
| partridge carcasseschopped | 2 (about 1 pound / 450 g) |
| unsalted butterdivided | 9 tablespoons (135 ml / 128 g) |
| shallotsthinly sliced | 2 medium (about ½ cup / 120 ml / 80 g) |
| dry Madeira | 1½ cups (360 ml / 350 g) |
| unsalted game stock or dark chicken stock | 4 cups (960 ml / 960 g) |
| very cold heavy cream for the forcemeatsdivided | 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) |
| heavy cream for the Diane sauce | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
| large egg whitesdivided | 4 (about ½ cup / 120 ml / 120 g) |
| preserved black trufflesdrained; 55 g cut into crescents, 15 g minced, 30 g sliced, and 15 g julienned; juice reserved | 4 whole (about 4 ounces / 115 g) |
| reserved truffle juice | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 4½ teaspoons (22 ml / 27 g) |
| ground white pepperdivided | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g) |
| prepared game gratin forcemeat from Gratins (No. 268) | ½ cup (120 ml / 115 g) |
| small button mushroomsquartered | 1½ cups (360 ml / 170 g) |
Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped partridge carcasses and brown them deeply on every side, leaving a dark glaze across the pan floor without letting it burn. Add the shallots and cook until softened. Pour in the Madeira, scrape up the fond, and reduce until only one-quarter remains. Add the stock and simmer uncovered until reduced to exactly 2 cups (480 ml). Strain through a fine sieve and skim away the fat. If it has reduced too far, add enough hot stock to restore the measure. Ça se rattrape.
Chill the food processor bowl and blade for 15 minutes. For the lining forcemeat, process the 500 g portion of partridge with 3 egg whites, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and ½ teaspoon of the white pepper until smooth and tacky. With the motor running, add 1 cup (240 ml) of the cold cream gradually. Scrape into a chilled bowl. Make the quenelle forcemeat with the remaining 200 g partridge, 1 egg white, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, and 6 tablespoons (90 ml) cream, then fold in the minced truffle. Reserve the final 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cream. Poach a teaspoon of each mixture in barely trembling water and taste it. Adjust the seasoning now. If either paste turns glossy with loose fat, stop and chill it over ice, then beat in a spoonful of the reserved cold cream. Ça se rattrape. Cover both forcemeats and keep them cold.
Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Coat a 6½-inch (16 cm) shallow metal timbale mould liberally with 2 tablespoons butter. Arrange the truffle crescents over the bottom and sides in overlapping rows, pressing them into the butter so they hold. Chill for 10 minutes. Reserve about ¾ cup of the lining forcemeat for the lid, then press the rest over the bottom and sides in an even layer ⅔ inch (1.7 cm) thick, removing every air pocket. Set the mould in a deep roasting pan and add hot water to reach halfway up its sides. Poach for 12 to 15 minutes, until the exposed forcemeat is just set and remains pale.
Lift the mould from the bain-marie and keep the water hot. Spread the prepared game gratin forcemeat from Gratins (No. 268) in a thin, complete layer over the pre-poached lining, using a damp offset spatula to keep it even. This layer brings the browned depth of game beneath the gentler raw forcemeat, so carry it across both the bottom and sides.
Bring a wide saucepan of salted water to the barest tremble. Shape the truffled forcemeat between two teaspoons into small quenelles about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. Poach them in batches for 4 to 5 minutes, until firm and cooked through, then drain carefully. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms until their moisture has gone and their edges are bronze. Combine the quenelles, mushrooms, sliced truffles, and ½ cup (120 ml) of the reduced Madeira sauce. The sauce should coat the garnish without pooling. If it is loose, reduce it separately for another minute; if it tightens too far, loosen it with a spoonful of stock.
Spoon the bound garnish into the lined mould, settling it gently without crushing the quenelles. Leave about ⅜ inch (1 cm) at the top. Spread the reserved raw forcemeat over the filling in a thin coat, joining it firmly to the lining around the edge so the timbale is completely sealed. Smooth the surface with a damp spatula.
Return the mould to the bain-marie, with the water still reaching halfway up its sides. Poach at 300°F (150°C) for 30 to 35 minutes, exactly until the centre reaches 165°F (74°C). The water must barely shiver. If bubbles begin breaking hard against the mould, remove the roasting pan, replace a cup of the hot water with cool water, and lower the oven to 285°F (140°C). A few beads of fat are a warning, not a verdict; calm the bath and continue gently. Let the cooked timbale rest in its mould for 10 minutes.
While the timbale rests, place the remaining 1½ cups (360 ml) Madeira reduction in a clean saucepan. Add the ½ cup cream, reserved truffle juice, and julienned truffle. Simmer gently until the Diane sauce again measures about 1½ cups and naps the back of a spoon. Remove it from the heat and whisk in 3 tablespoons cold butter, one piece at a time. If the sauce looks oily, whisk in a tablespoon of cold stock off the heat, then resume adding the butter slowly. Keep it warm without letting it boil.
Raise the oven to 425°F (220°C). Dry the suprêmes carefully and season them with the remaining salt and white pepper. Melt the final 2 tablespoons butter in a large ovenproof frying pan. Brown the breasts skin-side down for 2 to 3 minutes, until the skin is deep gold, then turn them for 30 seconds. Transfer the pan to the oven for 4 to 6 minutes, until the thickest breast reaches 160°F (71°C). Rest for 5 minutes and verify that carryover heat has brought them to 165°F (74°C); if not, return them to the oven briefly.
Place a warmed serving platter over the mould and invert both decisively. Lift the mould straight upward. If the timbale clings, lay a hot damp towel over the mould for 30 seconds, then try again; do not scrape around the patterned sides. Arrange the freshly roasted suprêmes in a crown over the timbale. Spoon a narrow thread of Diane sauce around its base and send the rest in a warmed sauceboat. Cut generous wedges at the table. À table!
1 serving (about 590g)
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