Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Venison Hashed
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Make the gravy base
Place the trimmings and bones in a saucepan and cover with water.
Let them stew for 1 hour.
Strain the liquid into a stew pan.
Roll the butter in flour and add it to the liquid.
Finish the hash
Stir in the leftover gravy and currant jelly, then bring to a boil.
Add the sliced venison and warm it through without boiling.
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.
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Venison + curranttop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together443 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Venison + meattop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together126 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Venison + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,594 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Venison
- Provides the main meat, which is warmed gently so it stays tender.
- Butter
- Adds richness and body to the liquid as it melts and blends with the flour.
- Flour
- Thickens the liquid so the sauce clings to the meat.
- Currant jelly
- Adds sweetness and a hint of acidity that balances the rich gravy.
The step that matters
Add the sliced venison and warm it through without boiling. Meat held at a boil becomes tough and dry as its proteins tighten and moisture is squeezed out. Keeping the liquid below a boil warms the slices gently and keeps them tender.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, meat, butter, flour):
- Raisinfits about as well
- Currantthe original
- Red currantfits about as well
- Grapefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against venison, meat, butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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