Why it works: Venison and currant work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 443 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Venison Steaks
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the venison into slices and pound it.
Heat a grill and grease the bars.
Cook and serve
Place the meat on the grill and broil quickly over clear coals.
Once done, transfer to a dish and season with salt, pepper, and plenty of butter.
Serve immediately with currant jelly. Ensure plates are warm.
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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Venison + curranttop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together443 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Venison + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + curranttop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,856 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Venison + peppertop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together955 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Venison
- Is the main protein, cooked quickly so the slices stay tender and juicy.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the hot meat with fat and flavor.
- Currant jelly
- Adds sweetness and acidity that contrasts with the rich, savory meat.
The step that matters
Broil quickly over clear coals. Meat that is cooked too long over heat loses moisture and becomes tough. A short, hot sear browns the surface while the interior stays tender and juicy.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, pepper, butter):
- Lemonfits better
- Red currantfits better
- Grapefits about as well
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against venison, pepper, butter. 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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