Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
To Broil Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Dress and wash the chicken, then split it open through the backbone.
Fold the chicken by cutting the cords under the wings and laying the wings flat.
Cut the sinews under the second joint of the leg and turn the leg down.
Press down the breastbone without breaking it.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Broil
Place the chicken on a grill with the inside facing the fire.
Broil over a slow fire, placing a tin sheet and weight on top to keep it flat.
Broil for 10 minutes, then turn and repeat on the other side.
Monitor closely to ensure even cooking without scorching.
If one part gets too hot, sprinkle a little ash on the fire beneath it.
Serve
Serve the chicken on a hot plate with a large lump of butter and a tablespoon of hot water.
Turn the chicken two or three times to absorb the butter.
Garnish with parsley and serve with poached eggs on a separate dish.
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.
-
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
-
Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
-
Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
-
Chicken + parsleytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,314 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
- Chicken
- Provides the main meat, which cooks through and becomes tender under gentle, sustained heat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the chicken as it is turned on the hot plate.
The step that matters
Broiling over a slow fire with the chicken kept flat. Heat that is too fierce scorches the skin before the thick parts cook through. A slow fire, a weight and a tin sheet keep the bird flat so heat reaches it evenly, and turning it halfway balances the cooking on both sides.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, pepper, butter):
- Thymefits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Garlicfits about as well
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, pepper, butter. 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.
More broiled chicken recipes
You might also like
Chicken Broth257 recipes
Chicken Soup156 recipes
Creamed Chicken89 recipes
Chicken Panada75 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.