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To Boil Meat

A method for boiling veal and bacon with broth, butter, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Acton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

To Boil Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut two pounds of lean veal and two pounds of fat bacon cured without saltpetre into large dice.

  2. Dice two large carrots and two onions.

Cook the meat

  1. Add half a pound of fresh butter to the stewpan.

  2. Place the diced veal, bacon, carrots, and onions in a stewpan.

  3. Stir with a wooden spoon over a gentle fire until the veal is very white and the bacon is partially melted.

Simmer and finish

  1. Pour in three pints of clear boiling broth or water.

  2. Add four cloves, a small bunch or two of thyme and parsley, a bay leaf, and a few corns of white pepper.

  3. Boil gently for an hour and a half.

  4. Strain the poêlée through a fine sieve.

  5. Set aside in a cool place.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

232Calories
5 gProtein
16 gFat
20 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Vealnot 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 Eliza Acton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Clove + thymetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,108 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Carrot + thymetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean veal
Provides the main meat structure, which firms and turns tender as it cooks gently.
Fat bacon
Adds fat and savoury flavour that melts into the stew and enriches the broth.
Fresh butter
Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour and giving the meat a smooth mouthfeel.
Clear broth
Provides the liquid that cooks the meat gently and carries flavour through the dish.
Carrots
Contribute gentle sweetness and aroma to the broth as they cook.
Onions
Add aroma and savoury depth to the broth as they soften during cooking.

The step that matters

Boil gently for an hour and a half. A vigorous boil toughens meat proteins and breaks up the pieces, while a gentle simmer keeps the veal tender and the broth clear.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, butter, carrot, onion, clove, thyme, parsley):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Winter savoryfits better
  3. Sagefits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, butter, carrot, onion, clove, thyme, parsley. 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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