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Chicken a LA Bechamel

A baked chicken dish in a creamy bechamel sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Norton, Caroline Trask · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and chicken are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,902 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓

Chicken a LA Bechamel

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter.

  2. Stir in one tablespoon of flour, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt, and a little pepper.

  3. Add one-half cup of chicken stock and one-half cup of cream. Stir until smooth and cook for five minutes.

  4. Remove from the fire.

Bake and serve

  1. Beat in three well-beaten eggs and two cups of chopped chicken.

  2. Turn into buttered ramekin dishes or a baking dish.

  3. Bake standing in a pan of hot water for about twenty minutes, ensuring the water does not boil.

  4. Use salmon or any white fish instead of chicken.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

351Calories
38 gProtein
20 gFat
2 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By Norton, Caroline Trask. 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. See the original page.

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. Butter + chickentop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,902 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  2. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  3. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

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

  5. Chicken + eggtop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,991 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Beaten eggs set the custard-like mixture as they cook, holding it together.
Butter
Butter enriches the base and gives the sauce a rich, smooth flavour.
Flour (in the method)
Flour thickens the melted butter and stock into a smooth, cohesive sauce.
Chicken stock
Stock adds savoury flavour and liquid that forms the body of the sauce.
Chopped chicken
Chicken is the main filling, adding protein, texture and flavour to the dish.

The step that matters

Bake in a water bath without boiling. Gentle, indirect heat from hot water cooks the egg mixture evenly and keeps it smooth. Boiling water would make the eggs curdle and turn grainy or spongy.

“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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