Why it works: Liver and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,418 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Liver and Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the bacon as directed for breakfast bacon.
Cut the liver into slices ⅓ inch thick.
Parboil the liver slices for 5 minutes.
Dry the liver well and roll it in seasoned flour.
Fry and serve
Heat bacon fat until smoking hot.
Fry the liver slices until browned on each side; they will be sufficiently cooked.
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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Liver + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,418 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Liver
- Forms the main body of the dish; frying browns its surface while the interior stays tender.
- Bacon
- Supplies fat for frying the liver and adds a salty, smoky flavour.
- Seasoned flour
- Coats the slices so they brown evenly and form a light crust.
The step that matters
Dry the liver well before flouring. Surface moisture keeps the flour from adhering and steams the slices instead of browning them. Drying gives the flour a grip and lets the fat sear the surface.
“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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