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Larded Liver

A larded calf liver baked with a flour gravy and mixed vegetables.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Carrot and parsnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,097 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Larded Liver

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Sear and make the gravy

  1. Sear the liver all over in a frying pan.

  2. Sprinkle flour into the pan juices to make a gravy and brown it.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the liver in a casserole with the gravy around it, not over it.

  2. Surround the liver with small pieces of vegetables.

  3. Steam in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for two to three hours.

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. Carrot + parsniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,097 recipes

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

  2. Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  3. Parsnip + beanstop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together85 recipes

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

  4. Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,107 recipes

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

  5. Carrot + beanstop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,443 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Calf's liver
Is the main cut that becomes tender through slow, moist steaming in the casserole.
Flour
Thickens the pan juices into a gravy and helps the surface brown.
Carrots
Add sweetness and body as they soften in the casserole.
Onions
Add savoury depth and sweetness as they cook down slowly.
Potatoes
Soften and absorb cooking juices, adding starch and body to the dish.

The step that matters

Keeping the gravy around the liver, not over it. Pouring gravy over the liver would wet the seared surface and wash away its browning. Surrounding it lets the liver steam gently in the moist oven heat, keeping it tender rather than dried out or soggy.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (liver, flour, carrot, parsnip, potato, onion, beans):

  1. Lentilsfits better
  2. Chestnutfits better
  3. Chickpeafits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against liver, flour, carrot, parsnip, potato, onion, beans. 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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