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To Hash a Calf's Head

A stew of calf's head cooked with gravy, wine, spices, and optional sweetbreads and forcemeat balls.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Randolph (1762–1828) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

To Hash a Calf's Head

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the head

  1. Boil the calf's head until the meat is almost enough for eating.

  2. Cut the head into thin slices.

  3. Divide the calf's head, wash it clean.

Make the sauce

  1. In a pot, combine three quarters of a pint of good gravy, half a pint of white wine, half a nutmeg, two anchovies, a small onion with cloves, and a little mace.

  2. Boil this mixture for a quarter of an hour.

  3. Strain the liquid and boil it again.

  4. Add the sliced meat and salt to taste, and let it stew a little.

  5. When the head is ready to be served, stir in a bit of butter.

Add the garnish

  1. Optionally add sweetbreads and make forcemeat balls with veal.

  2. Mix the brains with the yolks of eggs and fry them for garnish.

  3. Beat the yolks of two eggs well.

  4. Wash the outside of the head with the beaten yolks.

  5. On the head, spread raspings of sifted bread, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and mace powder.

  6. Cut the brains into pieces and flip them in thick butter.

  7. Cover the head with bits of butter.

Bake and serve

  1. Pour into the pan some white wine, water, and as much gravy as desired, then cover tightly.

  2. Bake in a quick oven.

  3. When served, pour strong gravy over it and garnish with slices.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

122Calories
6 gProtein
6 gFat
4 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Macenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Mary Randolph (1762–1828). 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. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Clove + macetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. White wine + clovetop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,715 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. White wine + macetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,329 recipes

    Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Yolks bind the breadcrumb coating and give the surface a golden, set finish.
Anchovies
Melt into the sauce, adding savoury depth without a fishy taste.
White wine
Adds acidity to the sauce that balances the rich meat and gravy.
Gravy
Provides the moist, savoury liquid that the head stews and bakes in.

The step that matters

Cover tightly and bake in a quick oven. Sealing the pan traps steam so the meat stays moist while it heats through. Without a tight cover, the liquid reduces and the surface dries out before the meat is tender.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (white wine, egg, nutmeg, clove):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Allspicefits better
  3. Marjoramfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against white wine, egg, nutmeg, clove. 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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