Why it works: Sage and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 887 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Boned Turkey
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the turkey
With a sharp knife, slit the skin down the back of the turkey.
Separate the flesh from the bones using the knife until you reach the wings and legs. Unjoint the wings and legs from the body, cutting through to the bone.
Turn back the flesh and remove the bones.
Stuff and tie
Stuff the turkey with a mixture of cold lamb or veal, chopped pork, salt, pepper, sage or savory, and lemon juice.
Sew the turkey into shape, tucking the ends of the wings under and pressing them close to the back. Tie the turkey firmly to ensure a plump and smooth surface.
Lard the top with two or three rows of fat.
Bake and serve
Bake until thoroughly done, basting often with salt, water, and a little butter.
Carve into slices and serve with jelly, cranberries, or tomato sauce.
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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Sage + lemontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together887 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,388 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lamb + porktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together623 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Turkey + porktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together830 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Turkey
- Forms the main body of the dish, carrying the stuffing as it cooks.
- Cold lamb or veal
- Provides the meaty, savory body of the stuffing.
- Chopped pork
- Adds fat to the stuffing, keeping it moist and rich as it cooks.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor to the basting liquid, aiding browning and richness on the surface.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich meat stuffing.
The step that matters
Tie the turkey firmly. Firm tying keeps the stuffing enclosed and the bird compact, so it cooks more evenly and holds a smooth, plump shape instead of spreading or leaking during roasting.
“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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