Why it works: Pepper and sage match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,388 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Turkey-hash
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the turkey
Remove the skin and bone from the cold roast turkey and chop it finely.
Combine the turkey with any cold stuffing and gravy, or enough hot water to moisten it.
Season with salt, pepper, and any powdered herb except sage.
Cook and serve
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
Add the turkey mixture to the pan and stir until very hot.
Poach the eggs by breaking them into boiling salted water just before the hash is done.
Serve the hot turkey hash topped with poached eggs immediately.
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.
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Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Turkey + sagetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together154 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Turkey + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,636 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Sage + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,312 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold roast turkey
- Forms the bulk of the hash and provides its main savory meat flavor.
- Cold stuffing
- Adds body and binds the chopped turkey together as it heats.
- Gravy
- Adds moisture and savory flavor so the hash does not dry out in the pan.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness and helps the hash brown lightly in the pan.
- Eggs
- Provide a soft, rich topping whose runny yolk moistens the hash when cut.
The step that matters
Poach the eggs just before the hash is done. Poached eggs set quickly in simmering water and turn rubbery if held too long or cooked too hard. Timing them to finish with the hash keeps the whites tender and the yolks runny when served.
Swap the sage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, pepper, butter, egg):
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Sagethe original
- Thymefits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, pepper, butter, egg. 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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