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Duck Stuffed with Chestnuts

A roasted duck stuffed with a chestnut mixture of butter, cream, salt, sugar, cayenne, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Elizabeth Lyles Wilson (1860–1924) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Duck Stuffed with Chestnuts

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the stuffing

  1. Boil the chestnuts until tender.

  2. Mash the chestnuts.

  3. Add the cream, butter, sugar, pepper, and salt to the mashed chestnuts.

Stuff and roast

  1. Fill the duck with the chestnut mixture.

  2. Roast the duck, allowing 15 minutes per pound.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

551Calories
20 gProtein
45 gFat
16 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Duck100g cooked with skin337
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cayenne1 tsp (1.8g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 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.

By Mary Elizabeth Lyles Wilson (1860–1924). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together21,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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

Duck
Is the main meat that the stuffing is packed into and cooked with.
Chestnuts (in the method)
Give the stuffing its starchy, mashable body and mild sweet flavor.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness so the mashed chestnut stuffing stays soft.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, carrying flavor through the mashed stuffing.
Sugar
Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the savory duck and salt.

The step that matters

Roast the duck, allowing 15 minutes per pound. Duck is fatty and the stuffing is dense, so the cavity can stay cool while the outside overcooks. Cooking to time per pound without checking doneness risks underdone or dry meat. The stuffing should also reach a safe temperature in the cavity.

“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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