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 ↓
Baked Squab
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean and split squabs down the back.
Place them in a roasting pan.
Season with salt and pepper.
Dredge with flour.
Place large pieces of butter on each squab.
Pour one cup of hot water over all.
Place a cover on the roaster.
Let steam on top of the stove for two hours.
Brown and cook
Put in oven without lid until a nice brown.
Season with salt and pepper.
Roll in flour.
Place in a roasting pan with half a cup of hot butter or lard.
Place pieces of butter on top.
Add a little boiling water.
Cover closely.
Cook for one hour.
Coat and finish
Split down the back.
Spread out in roaster.
Salt and pepper.
Cover with a thick coating made of one cup of butter and two cups of flour, creamed together. Cover the birds with it.
Cook thoroughly, basting as for turkey. The dressing should stay on and brown it.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Salad | 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.
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.
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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
- Squabs (in the method)
- Provide the main meat, which becomes tender through steaming and then browns in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds moisture and richness, and its fat helps the coating and skin brown.
- Flour
- Dredging and the creamed coating form a crust that thickens juices and browns in the oven.
- Hot water
- Creates steam during the covered stage, keeping the birds moist while they cook through.
The step that matters
Steaming before browning. Steaming under a cover cooks the birds gently and keeps them moist. Browning must follow, so the coating and skin brown rather than the meat drying out.
“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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