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Herb Forcemeat, Rich

A rich herb-flavored forcemeat made with bread crumbs, suet, butter, parsley, herbs, cream, eggs, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 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 ↓

Herb Forcemeat, Rich

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop the suet finely for better texture.

  2. In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, suet, butter, parsley, and mixed herbs.

Mix

  1. Add cream, eggs, and season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg or mace.

  2. Mix thoroughly until well combined.

Use

  1. Use as stuffing for rabbits, veal, or turkey, or vary with sausage meat or chopped ham.

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. Marjoram + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together688 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

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

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Thyme + basiltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

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

What each ingredient does

Bread crumbs
Provide the bulk that gives the forcemeat its body and soaks up the moisture.
Beef suet
Adds fat that keeps the stuffing moist and rich as it cooks.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, carrying the flavour of the herbs and spices.
Eggs
Bind the mixture together so it holds its shape when cooked.
Cream
Adds moisture and softness, loosening the mixture for an even texture.

The step that matters

Chop the suet finely. Fine suet melts evenly through the crumbs, keeping the stuffing moist and tender rather than greasy in pockets.

Swap the basil

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, beef, butter, parsley, thyme, marjoram, cream):

  1. Winter savoryfits better
  2. Sagefits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Basilthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, beef, butter, parsley, thyme, marjoram, cream. 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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