Why it works: Pepper and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
To Pot Beef, Veal, Game, or Poultry
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Cure the beef
Rub the beef with saltpetre and coarse sea salt.
Let it sit in salt for 2 days, rubbing it daily.
Bake
Place the beef in an earthen pan or stone jar.
Cover it with the skin and fat you cut off.
Pour in ½ pint of water and cover it tightly with paste.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for about 4 hours.
After baking, drain the gravy into a basin.
Prepare the meat
Remove gristles and skins, then mince the meat finely.
Moisten the minced meat with some of the gravy to make a strong consomme.
Pound the meat in a mortar with fresh butter until smooth, seasoning with black pepper and allspice as you go.
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.
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Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Beef + allspicetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,940 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 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
- Lean gravy beef
- Provides the meat that becomes tender during long, slow baking and then the pounded paste.
- Saltpetre
- Cures the beef, helping it keep its pink colour and firm texture during the salt rest.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the beef during the two-day cure.
- Fresh butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the pounded meat a smooth, spreadable texture.
The step that matters
Pound the meat until smooth. Cooked meat must be broken into very fine fibres while still warm and moist, otherwise it stays stringy and will not blend smoothly with the butter and spices.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, butter, pepper):
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, butter, pepper. 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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