Why it works: Butter and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,405 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓
Potted Chicken, Partridge, or Pheasant
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chicken
Roast the birds thoroughly.
Raise the flesh of the breast, wings, and merrythought, clear from the bones.
Take off the skin.
Mince the flesh.
Make the potted chicken
Pound the minced flesh smoothly with about one third of its weight of fresh butter, or less if needed.
Season with salt, mace, and cayenne, adding in small portions until highly flavored.
Proceed with it as with other potted meats.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Cayenne | 1 tsp (1.8g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | 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.
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Butter + macetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,405 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Butter and mace barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,405 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
- Chicken (in the method)
- Forms the bulk of the paste, providing the meaty texture and savory flavor of the dish.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the pounded meat a smooth, spreadable texture.
The step that matters
Pounding the minced flesh with butter. Pounding breaks the meat into fine, even particles so the butter is evenly absorbed, producing a smooth spread. Adding butter gradually and stopping when the paste is smooth prevents a greasy or grainy texture.
“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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