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Broiled Rabbits

Broiled rabbits that are split, flattened, wrapped in buttered parchment, broiled, then seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Rabbit and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,448 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Broiled Rabbits

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the rabbits

  1. Skin and clean the rabbits, then wipe them dry.

  2. Split them down the back lengthwise and pound them flat.

  3. Wrap each rabbit in well-buttered parchment paper.

Broil and serve

  1. Place the wrapped rabbits on a buttered grill and broil over a clear, brisk fire, turning often.

  2. Once cooked, remove the paper and place the rabbits on a very hot platter.

  3. Season with coarse sea salt, black pepper, and plenty of butter, turning to soak up the butter.

  4. Cover and keep hot in a warming oven until served.

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. Rabbit + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,448 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  2. Rabbit + peppertop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,334 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-pentylpyridine (fat).

  3. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Rabbits
Provide the lean meat that is cooked and served as the main dish.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, and helps the meat brown and stay juicy while broiling.

The step that matters

Broil over a clear, brisk fire, turning often. Lean rabbit meat dries out and toughens quickly under high heat. Frequent turning exposes each side to heat evenly, and the butter-coated parchment helps keep the meat moist while it cooks.

“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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