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Fricassee of Lamb-stones and Sweetbreads, Another Way

A fricassee of lamb stones and sweetbreads with oysters, asparagus tops and gravy, thickened with beaten egg yolks.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Asparagus and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 137 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Fricassee of Lamb-stones and Sweetbreads, Another Way

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Blanch the lamb-stones, then parboil them.

  2. Slice the lamb-stones.

  3. Flour the sweetbreads and cut them in half if thick.

Make the fricassee

  1. Fry the lamb-stones, sweetbreads, and oysters until golden brown.

  2. Pour off the butter.

  3. Add 2 cups of gravy.

  4. Add asparagus-tops, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and finely shredded shallots.

  5. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Thicken and serve

  1. Mix a little gravy with the beaten egg yolks.

  2. Gradually combine the yolk mixture with the rest of the gravy.

  3. Return the mixture to the pan and stir until thickened, without boiling.

  4. Garnish with lemon before serving.

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. Asparagus + shallottop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together137 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Nutmeg + shallottop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,019 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together13,015 recipes

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

  4. Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,083 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Lamb + asparagustop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together207 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg yolks
Thicken the gravy into a smooth, creamy sauce when gently heated.
Sweetbreads
Provide a tender, rich meat that browns well when floured and fried.
Oysters
Add a briny, savory flavor that pairs with the lamb and gravy.
Butter
Fries the meats and adds richness; excess is poured off before the sauce.
Good gravy
Forms the liquid base of the fricassee that carries all the other flavors.
Asparagus-tops
Add tender green texture and a fresh, vegetal flavor to the stew.

The step that matters

Return the mixture to the pan and stir until thickened, without boiling.. Egg yolks thicken by gentle heat. If the sauce boils, the proteins scramble and curdle, leaving a grainy, separated texture instead of a smooth sauce.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, oyster, butter, asparagus, pepper, shallot, white wine):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Capersfits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, oyster, butter, asparagus, pepper, shallot, white 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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