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Superior Suet Forcemeat, for Veal, Turkeys, &C.

A suet-based forcemeat mixture for veal and turkey.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓

Superior Suet Forcemeat, for Veal, Turkeys, &C.

Ingredients

Directions

Make the forcemeat

  1. Mix the bread crumbs and chopped suet in a bowl.

  2. Add parsley, lemon thyme, salt, cayenne, mace, and nutmeg; mix well.

  3. Incorporate the egg yolks and milk until smooth.

  4. Transfer the mixture to a mortar and pound until perfectly smooth.

  5. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes.

Shape and cook

  1. Roll into balls and dust with flour.

  2. Fry gently in hot oil for 7 to 8 minutes or poach for 6 to 7 minutes.

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. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  2. Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Lemon + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

  5. Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Bread crumbs
Form the bulk of the mixture and absorb fat and liquid to hold the forcemeat together.
Beef kidney suet
Adds richness and fat that keeps the cooked balls moist and tender.
Egg yolks
Bind the mixture and help it set when cooked.
Milk
Moistens the crumbs so they blend into a smooth, pliable paste.
Parsley
Adds fresh, herbal aroma and color.
Lemon thyme
Adds citrusy, herbal aroma to the mixture.

The step that matters

Pounding until perfectly smooth. Thorough pounding breaks the suet and crumbs into a uniform paste, so the forcemeat binds evenly and cooks without crumbling or greasy pockets. Cooling afterward firms the fat so the balls hold their shape during frying or poaching.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, beef, parsley, lemon, thyme, pepper, nutmeg):

  1. Marjoramfits better
  2. Winter savoryfits better
  3. Sagefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, beef, parsley, lemon, thyme, pepper, nutmeg. 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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