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An Excellent Imitation of Pickled Sturgeon

A pickled turkey prepared as an imitation of sturgeon, simmered in a brine of water, vinegar, wine, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Vinegar and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,776 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

An Excellent Imitation of Pickled Sturgeon

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Clean and bone the turkey, then tie it securely with clean string.

  2. Combine water, vinegar, white wine, and salt in a large saucepan.

  3. Boil the mixture and skim.

Cook and press

  1. Add the turkey to the boiling liquid and cook until done.

  2. Tighten the strings on the turkey and place a dish with a 2-pound weight on top.

  3. Boil the liquid for an additional 30 minutes.

Cool and store

  1. Let both the turkey and liquid cool.

  2. Submerge the turkey in the liquid.

  3. Store the submerged turkey for several months.

Serve

  1. Serve with vinegar, oil, sugar, and fennel.

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. Vinegar + white winetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Turkey + white winetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together82 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexyl acetate (fruity, apple).

  3. Turkey + vinegartop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together139 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Turkey
Forms the main body of the dish, which the pickling liquid preserves and flavors.
Vinegar
Acidity lowers the pH of the liquid, helping preserve the meat and giving it a sharp taste.
Dry white wine
Adds acidity and aroma to the pickling liquid.
Sea salt
Draws moisture out of the meat and seasons it during the long soak.

The step that matters

Submerging the turkey fully in the liquid. Any meat left above the liquid can spoil or grow mold during months of storage. Keeping every part covered by the acidic, salty brine is what preserves it.

“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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