Why it works: Butter and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 85,593 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
To Broil Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chicken
Choose young chickens.
Split them down the back.
Sprinkle with pepper and salt.
Dredge with flour.
Place a piece of breakfast bacon under each wing.
Put a piece of butter in the broiler or pan.
Lay the chicken on the butter.
Broil and serve
Broil in the oven.
Turn the chicken several times so all parts are browned.
Saute mushrooms in butter.
Serve on toast, garnish with mushrooms and parsley.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Bacon | 1 slice cooked (8g) | 43 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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 + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked through by broiling.
- Breakfast bacon
- Adds fat and savory flavor to the chicken as it cooks beneath the wings.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness and helps the chicken brown in the broiler.
- Flour (in the method)
- Dries the surface of the chicken and helps it brown.
The step that matters
Turn the chicken several times so all parts are browned. Broiling browns by direct radiant heat, so thick areas and the surface facing away from the heat can stay pale or undercooked unless the pieces are turned. Frequent turning promotes even browning and cooking.
“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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