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Turkey Soused in Imitation of Sturgeon

A turkey is cooked in a brine of wine, water, vinegar, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: White wine and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,776 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Turkey Soused in Imitation of Sturgeon

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the turkey

  1. Clean and dry the turkey thoroughly.

  2. Bone the turkey and tie it up like a sturgeon.

Make the brine

  1. In a pot, combine the wine, water, vinegar, and salt; bring to a boil.

  2. Skim the pot well before adding the turkey.

Cook and store

  1. Once boiling, add the turkey and cook until done.

  2. Remove the turkey, tie it tighter, and let the liquid boil a little longer.

  3. If needed, add more vinegar or salt when the liquid is cold and pour it over the turkey.

  4. Store the turkey covered in a cool, dry place.

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. White wine + vinegartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Turkey + white winetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together82 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexyl acetate (fruity, apple).

  3. Turkey + vinegartop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together139 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Turkey
Forms the main body of the dish, becoming firm and tender as it cooks in the liquid.
White wine
Adds acidity and aroma to the cooking liquid, flavoring the turkey.
Vinegar
Provides acidity that sharpens the flavor and helps preserve the cooked meat.

The step that matters

Skim the pot well before adding the turkey. Skimming removes foam and impurities that rise as the liquid heats, keeping the brine clear and preventing off flavors and cloudiness from transferring to the meat.

“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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