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Squirrel or Chicken Stew

A stew of squirrel or chicken with potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and okra, seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and okra work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 327 recipes. Both carry damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Squirrel or Chicken Stew

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Boil the squirrel or chicken until tender.

  2. Add the diced potatoes, green corn, chopped tomatoes, and sliced okra.

  3. Continue boiling until all vegetables are very tender and the meat falls off the bones.

  4. Thicken the stew as you would for soup.

  5. Season with salt, pepper, and stir in the butter.

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. Tomato + okratop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together327 recipes

    Shared aroma: damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Potato + corntop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together938 recipes

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

  3. Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,798 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Potato + okratop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  5. Corn + tomatotop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,099 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Squirrel or chicken
Provides the main protein and rich broth as it simmers and releases flavour.
Irish potatoes
Break down slightly as they cook, adding body and thickening the stew.
Green corn
Adds sweetness and tender texture to the stew.
Tomatoes
Add acidity and moisture, bringing brightness to the broth.
Okra
Releases natural starch as it cooks, helping to thicken the stew.

The step that matters

Continue boiling until all vegetables are very tender and the meat falls off the bones. Meat and vegetables need long, steady simmering to break down connective tissue and starch fully. Undercooked meat stays tough and undercooked vegetables leave the stew thin and starchy.

Swap the okra

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, potato, corn, tomato, pepper, butter):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits about as well
  3. Asparagusfits about as well
  4. Okrathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, potato, corn, tomato, 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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