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Salmon Timbales

Salmon timbales are baked salmon cakes served with a buttery sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Salmon Timbales

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the timbales

  1. Drain the liquid from the salmon and reserve it for the sauce.

  2. Rub the salmon through a sieve or shred it.

  3. Beat the eggs and mix them with the salmon and other ingredients.

  4. Butter the molds and fill them three-quarters full with the mixture.

  5. Place the molds in a pan half-full of hot water and bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until firm.

Make the sauce and serve

  1. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour to create a smooth paste.

  2. Stir in the milk, reserved salmon liquid, tomato ketchup, and a dash of red pepper.

  3. Bring the sauce to a boil, then add the yolk of an egg and stir well.

  4. Serve the timbales with the sauce immediately.

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.

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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

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

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  5. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the mixture and set into a firm, sliceable custard when baked.
Salmon
Provides the main body and flavour of the timbales.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture and add body so the mixture holds its shape.
Butter
Adds richness and flavour to the timbales and the sauce.
Flour
Thickens the butter and milk into a smooth sauce.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the sauce, giving it a creamy texture.

The step that matters

Bake the timbales in a water bath until firm. Eggs set when heated gently; a water bath keeps the edges from overheating, which would make the timbales rubbery or cracked. Remove them once just firm to avoid overcooking.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (salmon, butter, pepper, egg, bread, sauce, milk):

  1. Capersfits about as well
  2. Nutmegfits about as well
  3. Parsleythe original
  4. Tarragonfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against salmon, butter, pepper, egg, bread, sauce, milk. 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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