Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
To Broil Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chicken
Dress the chicken and wash it.
Split the chicken open through the backbone.
Fold the chicken by cutting the cords under the wings and laying the wings flat.
Cut the sinews under the second joint of the leg and turn the leg down.
Press down the breastbone without breaking it.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
Broil
Place the chicken on a gridiron with the inside facing the fire over a slow heat.
Put a tin sheet and weight on the chicken to keep it flat.
Broil the chicken for 10 minutes.
Turn the chicken and repeat broiling on the other side.
Monitor closely to avoid burning and adjust the heat as needed.
Serve
Serve the chicken on a hot plate with a large lump of butter and a tablespoon of hot water.
Turn the chicken two or three times to absorb the butter.
Garnish with parsley and serve with poached eggs on a separate dish.
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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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Chicken + parsleytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,314 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Provides the main protein, which firms and turns opaque as it cooks through.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, coating the chicken as it is turned on the plate.
The step that matters
Monitor closely to avoid burning. Over a slow heat the chicken can still scorch on the surface before the thick parts cook through. Watching the browning and adjusting the heat keeps the skin golden rather than burnt and lets the interior finish cooking evenly.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, pepper, butter):
- Thymefits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Garlicfits about as well
- Tarragonfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, pepper, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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