Why it works: Flour and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,459 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Liver and Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Fry the bacon
Cut the bacon into thin rashers.
Fry the bacon on both sides until brown.
Place the browned bacon on a dish by the fire.
Fry the liver
Cut the liver into ⅓ inch thick slices.
Dredge flour on both sides of the liver.
Fry the liver slowly until brown.
Place the browned liver on the dish with the bacon.
Make the gravy and serve
Pour away the fat from the frying pan.
Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the pan.
Pour in the boiling water.
Add a dash of pepper.
Add ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Shake the pan until the gravy thickens and browns.
Pour the gravy over the liver and bacon.
Serve immediately.
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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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Liver + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,375 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Liver + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,418 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
- Calf's liver
- Is the main meat, cooked briefly so it stays tender rather than tough.
- Bacon
- Renders fat for frying and browns, adding savoury flavour to the dish.
- All-purpose flour
- Coats the liver for browning and thickens the pan drippings into gravy.
The step that matters
Fry the liver slowly until brown. Liver is lean and delicate; high heat browns the outside before the inside cooks, leaving it dry and tough. Gentle, steady heat cooks it evenly and keeps it tender.
“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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