Name: Grill-Roasted Turkey
Ingredients: 1 12-14-pound turkey, giblets and neck removed, , at room temperature for 1 hour; 1 apple, cored, quartered; 1 orange, quartered; 1 red onion, peeled, quartered; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; A charcoal chimney; 2 cups wood chips, soaked in water for at least 2 hours (optional)

Why it works: Apple and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,230 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Grill-Roasted Turkey

Ingredients

1 12-14-pound turkey, giblets and neck removed, , at room temperature for 1 hour
1 apple, cored, quartered
1 orange, quartered
1 red onion, peeled, quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
A charcoal chimney; 2 cups wood chips, soaked in water for at least 2 hours (optional)

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

474Calories

34 gProtein

16 gFat

52 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Wood	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By epicurious. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Apple + orangetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,230 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Orange + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,402 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68,474 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,592 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,706 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, apple, orange, butter, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Carrotfits better
Tomatofits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, apple, orange, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The 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.