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Pigeons Aux Olives

Pigeons aux Olives is a roasted pigeon dish braised with butter, wine, broth, olives, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,083 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Pigeons Aux Olives

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Draw and truss the pigeons.

  2. Place them in a fire-proof dish with butter.

  3. Leave uncovered until the pigeons brown slightly over high heat.

Braise

  1. Add salt, pepper, wine, meat-juice, broth, and olives.

  2. Cover the dish and cook gently, either in a bain-marie or a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).

  3. Baste occasionally and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on size and age.

Serve

  1. Remove excess fat from the sauce and serve the pigeons with olives and sauce in the same dish.

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. Butter + white winetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,083 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together30,263 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. White wine + olivetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,949 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  4. Pepper + white winetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,433 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Butter + olivetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,887 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

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

What each ingredient does

Pigeons
Tender meat that becomes juicy and flavourful when gently braised in the covered dish.
Butter
Fat that carries heat for browning the pigeons and adds richness to the sauce.
Dry white wine
Acidic liquid that lifts flavour and helps build the braising sauce.
Concentrated meat-juice
Concentrated savoury liquid that deepens the meaty flavour and colour of the glaze.
Strong broth
Liquid that keeps the pigeons moist and forms the body of the sauce.
Olives
Briny, slightly salty pieces that add aroma and flavour contrast to the sauce.

The step that matters

Brown the pigeons before covering. Browning over high heat creates Maillard flavour and colour on the skin. Covering too early steams the birds, leaving the sauce pale and flat.

“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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