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Scalloped Turkey

A baked casserole of turkey layered with crumbs, butter, and gravy, topped with an egg‑butter crumb mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Scalloped Turkey

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Assemble

  1. Moisten the bread crumbs with a little milk.

  2. Butter a baking dish and add a layer of crumbs.

  3. Add a layer of chopped cold turkey or chicken, some dressing, and season with salt and pepper.

  4. Add bits of butter and alternate layers of crumbs and turkey until the dish is nearly filled.

  5. Mix a little water with the gravy and pour it over the layers.

Top and bake

  1. In a bowl, combine 2 beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons milk, melted butter, and cracker crumbs; season and beat well.

  2. Spread the egg mixture over the top of the scalloped turkey.

  3. Cover tightly and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.

  4. Remove the cover and let it brown for 15 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. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Bread + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  4. Bread + turkeytop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together822 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Milk + turkeytop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together281 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the topping and set into a custard that holds the crumbs together.
Bread crumbs
Form the absorbent layers that soak up gravy and milk for a soft, moist texture.
Gravy
Adds moisture and savory flavor that soaks through the layers during baking.
Butter
Adds richness and fat, helping the top brown during the uncovered baking.

The step that matters

Covering and then uncovering the dish. Baking covered first traps steam so the layers cook through and stay moist. Removing the cover lets surface moisture evaporate, allowing the egg topping to set and brown rather than stay pale and wet.

“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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