Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 9,057 recipes mention both. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Giblet Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the stock
Wash the giblets.
Place the giblets in a saucepan with the sliced onion, bouquet garni, peppercorns, and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Cover with cold water and simmer gently for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Assemble the pie
Cut the steak into thin slices.
Layer the sliced steak at the bottom of a pie dish.
Add the giblets to the pie dish.
Alternate layers of steak, seasoning well.
Strain the stock.
Season the stock to taste.
Pour the stock over the meat to about halfway.
Bake and serve
Cover the pie with pastry.
Brush the pie with egg yolk before baking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 1 hour.
Reduce the temperature to 300°F (150°C) and continue baking for an additional 45 minutes.
Brush the pie with egg yolk when it is three‑quarters done.
Before serving, pour in the remaining hot stock.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Goose giblets
- Simmered to make the flavourful stock that moistens the meat layers.
- Rump steak
- Forms the meat layers that become tender as the pie bakes.
- Onion
- Adds sweetness and aroma to the stock as it simmers.
- Puff pastry or flaky pastry
- Forms the crust that rises, layers and browns in the oven.
The step that matters
Dropping the oven to 300°F after the first hour. Lower heat lets the meat finish cooking gently and become tender while the stock sets, and it helps keep the pastry from scorching.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, thyme, pepper):
- Carrotbetter flavor fit
- Parsnipbetter flavor fit
- Shallotbetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, thyme, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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