Why it works: Pheasant and mushroom work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 145 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Game Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the game
Cut the hare and birds into joints.
Pack them closely into a stew pan or jar.
Add the stock and cover closely.
Simmer gently for 1 hour.
Lay the ham and mushrooms on top and simmer for 1 hour longer.
Strain off the gravy and season well.
Make the pie
Set aside to cool.
Remove all the fat.
Take most of the bones from the game.
Pack the meat in a game pie mold with the finely chopped mushrooms and ham.
Mix the varieties of meat as much as possible.
Fill the mold with the gravy.
Set aside to cool.
Garnish and serve
Garnish the top with red and yellow aspic cut into blocks, chopped finely, sliced and quartered lemon, and parsley.
Serve as a cold luncheon or supper dish.
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.
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Pheasant + mushroomtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together145 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Ham + mushroomtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,486 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Pheasant + hamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together113 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Hare
- Provides rich, dark meat that gives the pie its deep gamey flavor.
- Pheasant
- Adds tender meat and a delicate gamey flavor to the mixed game filling.
- Partridge
- Contributes lean, finely textured meat that adds variety to the game filling.
- Pigeons
- Adds dark, richly flavored meat that deepens the taste of the filling.
- Ham
- Adds salty, savory flavor that complements the game meats.
- Mushrooms
- Add earthy flavor and moisture to the filling.
The step that matters
Strain off the gravy and season well. Gelatin from the simmered bones sets the gravy when cooled, so the filling holds together when sliced. Seasoning must be adjusted after reduction and straining, because salt concentrates as liquid is cooked and cooled, and under-seasoned gravy leaves the whole pie bland.
“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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