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Forcemeat for Game Pie

A seasoned forcemeat mixture of veal, livers, mushrooms, bacon, and spices for use in game pies.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Forcemeat for Game Pie

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and stew

  1. Remove skin and fat from the veal and cut into dice.

  2. Melt butter in a saucepan.

  3. Add veal to the saucepan.

  4. Stew gently for 12 to 15 minutes.

  5. Remove veal from the saucepan.

  6. Add livers and mushrooms to the saucepan.

  7. Let the mixture absorb the gravy.

  8. Stir until dry.

Make the binding

  1. Beat the yolk.

  2. Mix the yolk with the bread crumbs while hot.

  3. Set the mixture aside to cool.

Finish the forcemeat

  1. Mince the veal finely.

  2. Pound together with livers and mushrooms.

  3. Add the cooled bread mixture.

  4. Beat well.

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. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Thyme + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Thyme + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,907 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal
Provides the main meaty body and firm texture of the forcemeat.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, moist mouthfeel.
Bread crumbs
Absorb the gravy and help bind the mixture together.
Egg yolk
Acts as a binder that helps hold the forcemeat together.
Livers
Add deep savoury flavour and a soft, rich texture.
Mushrooms
Add earthy flavour and moisture to the mixture.

The step that matters

Set the bread mixture aside to cool before adding it. Adding the binder while still hot can melt the butter and loosen the mixture, making it greasy and soft. Cooling it first keeps the forcemeat firm and well bound.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, butter, parsley, thyme, lemon, nutmeg, bread):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Sagefits better
  3. Winter savoryfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, butter, parsley, thyme, lemon, nutmeg, bread. 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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