Why it works: Chicken and pork match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,417 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Broiled Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Place the chicken in a pan with the inner side facing up.
Sprinkle or rub the chicken with a little coarse sea salt.
Cover the chicken with slices of salt pork.
Add 1 large cup of water to the pan.
Roast
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).
When the chicken is brown, turn it right side up.
Place 1 tablespoon of butter on the chicken.
Baste often.
Bake for about 1 hour, adding more water if necessary.
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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Chicken + porktop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,417 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Pork + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Whole chicken
- Provides the meat that is cooked through and browned in the oven.
- Salt pork
- Covers the chicken and releases fat that moistens and flavours the skin as it roasts.
- Water
- Sits in the pan to create steam and keep the chicken moist while it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds fat that promotes browning and a rich flavour on the skin.
The step that matters
Turning the chicken right side up after browning. Turning too early or too late affects how evenly the skin browns and how well the meat cooks. Basting and adding water as needed keeps the surface from drying out during the long bake.
“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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