Why it works: Pork and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,214 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Salmi of Duck or Game
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the game in small pieces, put them in a hot oven for five minutes to start the juices. Put in a sauce pan two tablespoonfuls of butter, one-fourth pound of salt pork cut in dice, one tablespoonful of onion and carrot chopped fine, one-fourth teaspoonful each of salt, sage and one bay leaf, ten peppercorns. Cook for ten minutes, stirring often, then add one tablespoonful of flour; let it brown, then add two cupfuls of brown stock. Cook very slowly for thirty
GAME. 109
minutes, strain, add one-fourth cup of madeira and the pieces of game, cover and cook slowly for forty minutes, garnish with croutons and truffles. The truffles should be added five minutes before the salmi is done. Cooked game can be used. Simmer only for ten minutes after it is added to the sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Pork | 100g cooked | 242 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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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Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,214 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + porktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pork, flour):
- Potatofits better
- Shallotfits better
- Chivefits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pork, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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