Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Grilled Kidneys
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Split and wash the kidneys, then remove the inside fat.
Run a skewer through each kidney and place tiny pats of butter on them.
Grill and serve
Place the kidneys on a heated and greased grill.
Grill the kidneys, turning every two minutes, until just done, about 8 minutes.
When ready, place a pat of Maitre d'Hotel butter on each kidney and serve on a round of toast.
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 + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sheep's kidneys
- Form the main body of the dish, cooking to a tender, meaty texture when grilled.
- Maitre d'hotel butter
- Melts over the hot kidneys to add richness and a savoury, herby flavour.
- Toasted or fried bread
- Soaks up the juices and butter, giving a crisp base under the kidneys.
The step that matters
Grilling the kidneys. Kidneys turn tough and rubbery when overcooked, so they should be turned regularly and removed as soon as they are just done. Turning helps the heat cook them evenly.
“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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