Why it works: Pepper and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Venison Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the pie
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line an earthen pudding dish with the pastry, about 1 inch thick.
Spread a layer of chopped beef suet on the bottom and top of the pie crust.
Season the venison pieces with salt, pepper, and ground cloves, then place them in the dish.
Pour the red wine over the venison.
Cover with another layer of chopped suet, then seal with pastry, wetting the edges to adhere.
Cut several slits in the top crust for steam to escape and brush with beaten egg.
Bake and serve
Bake for 2 hours, or until the venison is tender.
While baking, simmer the venison bones in water with salt and pepper to make gravy.
Once the pie is done, pour the gravy into it through the slits in the top crust and serve hot.
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 + clovetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together17,451 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Clove + red winetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together849 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + red winetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,017 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Venison + red winetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together167 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Venison
- Forms the main meat filling, which becomes tender through long, slow baking.
- Beef suet
- Adds fat that enriches the filling and keeps the meat moist as it bakes.
- Red wine
- Adds acidity and depth of flavour to the venison during cooking.
- Plain pastry
- Encloses the filling as a structural crust that holds in juices and browns in the oven.
- Beaten egg
- Brushed on the crust to promote browning and a glossy finish.
The step that matters
Seal the crust and cut the steam slits. A tight seal keeps juices and steam inside the pie, while the slits let steam escape so the crust does not burst or go soggy.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, venison, pepper, red wine, egg):
- Rosemaryfits better
- Thymefits about as well
- Parsleyfits about as well
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, venison, pepper, red wine, 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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