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 ↓
Fried Rabbit
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the rabbit by drawing, skinning, and cutting it into frying‑sized pieces.
Roll the rabbit pieces in flour.
Fry
Heat Crisco and butter in a frying pan until hot.
Fry the rabbit pieces until golden brown on both sides.
Simmer in sauce
In a separate pot, combine jelly, Worcestershire sauce, and hot water; bring to a boil.
Pour the sauce over the rabbit and let it simmer for 30 minutes or longer, basting frequently.
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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Rabbit + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Rabbit + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,448 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Rabbit + saucetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together330 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
- Rabbit
- Provides the lean meat that the coating and sauce are served with.
- Flour
- Forms a dry coating that helps the rabbit brown in the hot fat.
- Crisco
- Conducts heat for frying and gives the pieces a crisp, golden surface.
- Butter
- Adds richness and browning flavour to the frying fat.
- Jelly
- Adds sweetness and body to the sauce as it simmers.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Adds savoury, tangy depth to the simmering sauce.
The step that matters
Browning the floured rabbit in hot fat. If the fat is not hot enough, the flour coating absorbs oil and turns greasy instead of crisp and golden. Pieces also need room in the pan so they fry rather than steam.
“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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