Why it works: Pepper and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Pigeon Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Make a fine puff pastry; lay a border of it around a large dish, and cover the bottom with a veal cutlet or a very tender steak free from fat and bone; season with salt, cayenne pepper, and mace.
Prepare as many pigeons as can be put in one layer in the dish; put in each pigeon a small lump of butter, and season with pepper and salt.
Assemble and bake
Lay the pigeons breast downwards in the dish, and cut a half dozen hard-boiled eggs into slices and lay them with the birds.
Put in more butter, some veal broth, and cover the whole with crust.
Bake slowly for an hour and a half.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | not in our table | 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.
-
Pepper + macetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Egg + peppertop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + macetop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,587 recipes
Pepper and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 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
- Puff pastry (in the method)
- Forms a crisp, flaky border and top crust that seals in the filling.
- Pigeons (in the method)
- Provide the main meat, which cooks through and becomes tender during slow baking.
- Veal cutlet or steak (in the method)
- Forms a tender meat base layer under the birds in the dish.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add richness and a firm, sliced texture among the pigeons.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the meat juicy during baking.
- Veal broth (in the method)
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour to the filling as it bakes.
The step that matters
Slow baking with the crust closed. Baking slowly lets the meat cook through and become tender without drying out. Covering the dish with crust traps steam and juices, which keeps the filling moist.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pepper):
- Parsleyfits better
- Dillfits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pepper. 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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