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Pilau of Birds

A pilaf made with whole birds, bacon, rice, butter, and eggs, baked with cooking liquid.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Rice and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,645 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Pilau of Birds

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Cook the birds and rice

  1. Boil the birds with the bacon in enough water to cover them. Season with salt.

  2. Once tender, remove the birds and set aside with a little cooking liquid.

  3. Add the rice to the remaining liquid and cook covered until done.

  4. Stir in the butter and additional salt to taste.

Layer and bake

  1. In a deep dish, layer some rice, then place the birds and bacon in the center.

  2. Pour the reserved cooking liquid over the birds, then cover with the remaining rice.

  3. Smooth the top and spread the beaten egg yolks over it.

  4. Cover with a plate and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,645 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Rice + eggtop 28% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,350 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Birds
Provide the main meat, which cooks until tender in the seasoned broth.
Bacon
Adds smoky fat and savory flavor to the cooking liquid and the finished rice.
Rice
Forms the bulk of the dish, absorbing the cooking liquid and butter as it cooks.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, giving the rice a softer, more rounded texture.
Eggs
Beaten egg spread over the top helps set and bind the upper layer.

The step that matters

Spread the beaten egg over the top before baking. Egg proteins set when heated, so an even coat binds the top layer into a firm crust. Uneven spreading leaves dry or loose patches.

“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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