Name: Kentucky Bourbon Burgoo
Yield: 12 to 14 servings
Ingredients: 2 pounds pork shank; 2 pounds veal shank; 2 pounds beef shank; 2 pounds breast of lamb; 1 (4-pound) chicken; 8 quarts cold water; 1 1/2 pounds potatoes; 1 1/2 pounds onions; 1 bunch carrots, peeled and sliced thickly; 2 green peppers, seeded and chopped; 2 cups chopped cabbage; 1 quart tomato puree; 2 cups whole corn, fresh or canned; 2 pods red pepper; 2 cups diced okra; 1/2 cup chopped parsley; 2 cups dry lima beans; 1 cup diced celery; 3/4 cup Kentucky bourbon; Salt and pepper; Tabasco; Steak Sauce; Worcestershire sauce

Why it works: Pork and beef match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,690 recipes. Both carry 12-methyltridecanal, which smells tallowy, beefy. The science ↓

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.

Pork + beeftop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,690 recipes

Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
Pork + chickentop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,417 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + chickentop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,148 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Potato + carrottop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,107 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the carrot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, veal, beef, lamb, chicken, potato, onion):

Tomatofits better
Asparagusfits about as well
Chivefits about as well
Carrotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, veal, beef, lamb, chicken, potato, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Lamb	100g cooked	294
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Lima Bean	1/2 cup (85g) cooked	108
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Okra	1 cup (100g)	33
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Cabbage	1 cup shredded (89g)	22
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Veal	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

Kentucky Bourbon Burgoo