Why it works: Rabbit and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,067 recipes. Both carry acetaldehyde, which smells pungent, ethereal. The science ↓
Rabbit Pies
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Assemble the pie
Butter a pie dish and layer the bottom with bacon.
Dip rabbit pieces in flour and layer them over the bacon, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Add another layer of bacon, then more rabbit, continuing until the dish is dome-shaped.
Top and bake
Cover with prepared pastry, ornament the top with leaves, and lightly brush with egg.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 1.5 hours.
Serve
Use a funnel to add gravy before serving.
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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Rabbit + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Rabbit + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,334 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-pentylpyridine (fat).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rabbit
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender during the long, slow baking.
- Streaked bacon
- Adds fat and salty flavour that bastes the rabbit as it cooks.
- Pastry
- Forms a sealed crust that holds in moisture and gives the pie its structure.
- Flour
- Lightly coats the rabbit, helping it brown and thickening the juices.
- Gravy
- Adds moisture and savoury depth to the filling once poured in.
The step that matters
Add the gravy through a funnel. Pouring liquid into a fully baked pie through a funnel lets it reach the cavity without soaking the pastry or spilling over the crust.
“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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