Name: Duck, Salmi of
Ingredients: giblets of a duck; ½ cup veal gravy; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; 3 shallots, finely shredded; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 bitter orange

Why it works: Pepper and shallot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,898 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Duck, Salmi of

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gravy

Place the giblets of the duck in veal gravy seasoned with cayenne, shallots, pepper, and salt.
Roast the duck.
Cut the roasted duck into pieces.

Make the sauce and serve

Place the duck pieces in a stewpan with the gravy.
Simmer until hot.
Squeeze the juice of a bitter orange into the sauce.
Strain the sauce over the duck.
Serve hot.

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.

Pepper + shallottop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,898 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,049 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Veal + shallottop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together920 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Pepper + bitter orangetop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together12 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Shallot + bitter orangetop 32% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Veal gravy: Provides the liquid base and savory body for the sauce.
Bitter orange: Adds acidity and bright citrus aroma that cut through the rich duck fat.
Shallots: Add a mild aromatic sweetness that builds flavor in the gravy.