Why it works: Shallot and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,982 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Meat Pie for Lunch
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the filling
Place the larded rump steak in the bottom of a saucepan.
Add the small pieces of game on top of the steak, seasoned with salt and pepper, along with the bacon.
Stew the mixture well, then add the chopped mushrooms and rich gravy.
Assemble and bake
Transfer the mixture into a pie crust with a thick ornamental edge.
Leave the top crust loose for additional gravy.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) until the crust is light brown.
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.
-
Shallot + mushroomtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,982 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Shallot + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,898 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
- Rump steak
- Provides the main meaty body and rich flavour of the filling as it stews.
- Game
- Adds a deep, gamey flavour that defines the character of the pie.
- Bacon
- Adds fat and savoury flavour that enriches the filling and moistens the meat.
- Mushrooms
- Contribute earthy flavour and moisture to the filling as they cook.
- Rich gravy
- Supplies liquid and savoury depth so the filling stays moist during baking.
- Pie crust
- Encloses the filling and browns in the oven to form the structure of the pie.
The step that matters
Stewing the filling well. Meat must be cooked through and tender before it goes into the crust, because the pie bakes only until the crust browns. Under-stewed game or steak stays tough, and the liquid can make the base soggy if it is not reduced.
Swap the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, mushroom):
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Tomatofits about as well
- Shallotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, mushroom. 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.
More meat pie recipes
You might also like
Mushroom Soup60 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.