Why it works: Thyme and parsley 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 ↓
Mock Venison
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.
Prepare the meat
Rub the meat well with sweet herbs, garlic, sugar, spices, and salt.
Place the meat in a narrow earthen vessel and cover it with rasped bacon.
Pour wine, ale, or a mixture of vinegar and water over the meat until covered.
Cook and press
Bake in the oven at 300°F (150°C) after the bread has been removed, or simmer in a saucepan of water for 5 to 6 hours.
Once cooked, place a wooden cover on the meat with a stone or marble weight to press it down.
Pour off the liquid, let it cool, and cover with suet and then with crystal acid.
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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Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Thyme + clovetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,108 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Parsley + garlictop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Thyme + garlictop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,608 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Parsley + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,768 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Boned meat
- Provides the main body of the dish, and its fat keeps the slow-cooked meat moist.
- Rasped bacon
- Adds fat and savoury flavour as it covers and slowly bastes the meat during cooking.
- Sugar
- Adds a touch of sweetness that balances the savoury meat and the acidic liquid.
- Wine, ale, or vinegar and water
- Its acidity helps tenderise the meat during the long, slow cooking.
The step that matters
Long, gentle cooking. Cooking for 5 to 6 hours at a low, steady heat lets tough connective tissue break down slowly, so the meat becomes tender rather than dry. Too much heat can toughen it.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, thyme, parsley, garlic, sugar, wine):
- Marjoramfits better
- Rosemaryfits better
- Winter savoryfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against meat, thyme, parsley, garlic, sugar, wine. 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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