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To Hash a Calf's Head

A hash of calf's head with gravy, wine, anchovies, lemon, and forcemeat balls and brain fritters.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

To Hash a Calf's Head

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the head

  1. Boil the calf's head until tender.

  2. Let it cool.

  3. Cut into slices.

  4. Combine the slices with strong gravy, white wine, anchovies or essence, and lemon juice.

  5. Stew until tender.

Make the forcemeat balls

  1. Pound veal and suet together.

  2. Mix with chopped herbs, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and an egg.

  3. Form into balls.

  4. Fry until light brown.

Prepare the brains

  1. Scald the brains.

  2. Skin them.

  3. Beat with a fork.

  4. Add 1 egg, flour, pepper, salt, herbs, and nutmeg.

  5. Fry until golden.

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. Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Thyme + winter savorytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together780 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Marjoram + winter savorytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together455 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Calf's head
Forms the main body of the hash, becoming tender after boiling and stewing.
Strong gravy
Supplies moisture and savory depth that keeps the meat from drying out during stewing.
Veal
Adds a soft, binding meat base to the forcemeat balls.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the forcemeat balls moist and tender when fried.
Egg
Binds the forcemeat and brains together and helps them set when fried.
Flour
Helps bind the brain mixture so it holds together in the pan.

The step that matters

Stew the head until tender. Collagen in the head only softens into gelatin with long, gentle simmering in liquid. Stopping early leaves the meat tough and stringy.

“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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