Name: Stewed Brisket of Beef
Ingredients: 6 to 7 lbs brisket of beef; 3 to 4 slices of bacon; 1 carrot, chopped; 2 onions, chopped; a bunch of herbs (such as thyme and parsley); a few cloves; a few peppercorns; a few allspice berries; weak stock or water, enough to cover; coarse sea salt to taste; black pepper to taste

Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,874 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Thyme + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,057 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Thyme + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,077 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 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

Brisket of beef: Forms the main meat, which becomes tender through long, slow simmering in liquid.
Bacon: Lays fat and savoury flavour into the stewing liquid and under the brisket.
Onions: Release sweetness and aromatic depth into the stewing liquid as they cook.
Carrot: Adds subtle sweetness and aroma to the stewing liquid.
Flour (in the method): Thickens the strained liquid into a smooth sauce.

The step that matters

Keep the simmer gentle and the lid sealed. A rolling boil toughens meat and evaporates liquid too fast, while a tight cover keeps steam in so the liquid stays at a steady, low level. Slow, moist heat over several hours is what breaks down the connective tissue in brisket and makes it tender.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, carrot, thyme, parsley, clove, allspice, pepper):

Parsnipfits better
Turnipfits better
Shallotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, carrot, thyme, parsley, clove, allspice, pepper. 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.

Stewed Brisket of Beef