Why it works: Parsley and carrot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Stewed Duck
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the duck
Truss the duck firmly and roast it halfway in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
Stew
In a large stewpan, melt the butter and fry the minced shallots until delicate.
Add the duck to the stewpan with the fried shallots.
Add boiling beef stock or Espagnole sauce to cover the duck halfway.
Add the green onions, parsley, and young carrots to the stewpan.
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Cover and simmer for 1 to 1.25 hours, turning the duck occasionally.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Parsley + carrottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Shallot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,737 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + carrottop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Duck
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender as it stews slowly in liquid.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying flavour when used to fry the shallots.
- Shallots
- Build a mild, sweet aromatic base when fried gently in butter.
- Beef stock or espagnole sauce
- Supplies the cooking liquid and savoury body that flavours the duck and sauce.
The step that matters
Simmer covered, turning the duck occasionally. Slow, covered simmering breaks down tough connective tissue in the duck's legs and thighs. Too much heat or uncovered cooking can toughen the meat and reduce the liquid too quickly.
Swap the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, onion, parsley, carrot, pepper, beef):
- Potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Turnipfits better
- Shallotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, onion, parsley, carrot, pepper, beef. 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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