Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chickens
Draw the chickens.
Singe the chickens.
Clean the chickens.
Truss the chickens.
Clean the giblets.
Place the giblets in a kettle. Cover the kettle with cold water. Bring the water to a boil. Simmer while the chickens roast.
Roast the chickens
Place 2 slices of bacon on top of each chicken.
If canning, cut chickens in halves or quarters before roasting.
Cover the bottom of pans with water mixed with ¼ cup coarse sea salt.
Place pans in a 400°F oven.
Cook for 1 to 1.5 hours.
Remove chickens and bacon from the pan.
Make the gravy
Mix 1 pint of grease with 1 lb of butter and 1 pint of flour until smooth. Add 2 gallons of giblet cooking water. Stir constantly over heat until it boils.
Chop giblets finely. Mix the chopped giblets into the gravy with ¾ lb of coarse sea salt, 1 ½ oz of ground white pepper, and enough caramel for color.
Can the chicken
If canning, place chicken in a can. Fill the can one-third full with sauce. Solder on the lid. Tip the can.
Process at 250°F for the appropriate time based on chicken size.
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.
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Chicken + flourtop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,559 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Butter + white peppertop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,814 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Chicken + white peppertop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together738 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the gravy, carrying flavor and giving it a smooth body.
- Flour
- Thickens the grease and giblet water into a smooth gravy as it cooks and boils.
- Bacon
- Lays fat over the chickens as they roast, adding savory flavor and keeping the meat moist.
- Chickens
- Provide the main meat; trussing keeps the birds compact so they roast evenly.
The step that matters
Stir constantly over heat until it boils. Flour thickens only when heated to a boil and must be stirred so it doesn't clump or scorch on the bottom. Lumps and scorching ruin the smooth texture of the gravy.
Swap the white pepper
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, butter, flour):
- Jalapenofits better
- Capersfits better
- Garlicfits better
- White pepperthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, butter, flour. 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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