Why it works: Oyster and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,663 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Little Pigs in Blankets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Season the oysters with pepper.
Roll the oysters in the rolled crackers.
Cut the bacon into thin slices and wrap each oyster in a slice of bacon, securing with a toothpick.
Cook and serve
Cook in a frying pan for about 2 minutes, just long enough to cook the bacon.
Serve on small pieces of toast, if desired.
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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Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,663 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Large oysters
- Provide the main filling, whose mild, briny flesh is wrapped and cooked briefly.
- Bacon
- Adds fat and salty, savoury flavour, and browns as it cooks around the oyster.
- Rolled crackers
- Form a crisp, golden coating that helps the oysters hold their shape while cooking.
The step that matters
Cook in a frying pan for about 2 minutes. Oysters cook quickly and turn rubbery if overcooked. The short time is just enough to crisp the bacon and warm the oyster through.
“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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