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Veal Forcemeat

A mixture of veal, beef suet, bacon, breadcrumbs, herbs, and eggs used as stuffing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Veal Forcemeat

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Pass the veal twice through a meat grinder.

  2. Pound the veal, suet, and bacon in a mortar.

  3. Pass the mixture through a wire sieve.

  4. Add the remaining ingredients and season to taste.

  5. Use as desired.

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 + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

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

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

  3. Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  4. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

  5. Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Lean veal
Provides the main meaty body and structure of the forcemeat.
Beef suet
Adds fat that keeps the forcemeat moist and tender when cooked.
Fat bacon
Contributes fat and savoury flavour that enriches the lean meat.
Eggs
Bind the mixture so it holds together and sets when cooked.
Breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture and lighten the texture of the forcemeat.

The step that matters

Pounding and sieving the meat. Grinding, pounding and sieving break the meat into a fine, even paste. Thorough breaking-down gives a smooth texture that binds well and avoids a coarse, crumbly result.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (veal, beef, parsley, onion, egg, pepper, nutmeg):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against veal, beef, parsley, onion, egg, pepper, nutmeg. 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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