Why it works: Parsley and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,057 recipes. Both carry cuminaldehyde, which smells Spicy, cumin. The science ↓
Giblet Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the stock
Wash the giblets.
Place the washed giblets in a pot with the sliced onion, bouquet‑garni, peppercorns, and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Cover the pot with cold water.
Simmer gently for 1 to 2 hours.
Strain the stock.
Season the stock to taste.
Assemble the pie
Cut the steak into thin slices.
Layer the sliced steak in a pie dish with the giblets, alternating layers.
Season the layers well.
Pour the seasoned stock over the meat until it is about halfway covered.
Cover the pie with pastry.
Bake and serve
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C).
Continue baking for an additional 45 minutes.
Brush the pie with egg yolk before baking or when it is three‑quarters done.
Pour in the remaining hot stock before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,585 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Onion + thymetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,171 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Onion + parsleytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Goose giblets
- Give the stock its rich, savoury flavour and body.
- Rump steak
- Becomes tender and moist as it cooks in the layers with the stock.
- Onion
- Adds sweetness and aroma to the stock as it simmers.
- Puff pastry or flaky pastry
- Forms a crisp, flaky, golden crust over the filling.
The step that matters
Simmer the giblets gently. Boiling hard toughens the meat and makes the stock cloudy and greasy. A gentle simmer lets the collagen soften slowly, giving tender meat and a clearer, richer stock.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (parsley, thyme, pepper):
- Carrotfits better
- Parsnipfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against parsley, thyme, 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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