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Broiled Squabs

Broiled squabs are small game birds roasted over fire, served on buttered toast.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Squab and butter work together. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 48 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

Broiled Squabs

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the squabs

  1. Pluck the squabs, remove the head and feet, draw, wash, and wipe them dry.

  2. Split the squabs down the back and press them open to flatten.

  3. Dip the squabs in melted butter.

Broil and serve

  1. Broil the squabs over a clear, steady fire until cooked and nicely colored.

  2. Sprinkle with pepper, coarse sea salt, and bits of butter.

  3. Serve on hot buttered toast on a hot platter.

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. Squab + buttertop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together48 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

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

  3. Squab + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together35 recipes

    Shared aroma: sabinene (woody, terpenic).

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

What each ingredient does

Squabs
The main protein; splitting and flattening them lets the birds cook evenly and quickly.
Melted butter
Adds richness and moisture, and helps the surface brown during broiling.
Buttered toast
Soaks up drippings and juices, giving the dish a base and a rich, savory flavor.

The step that matters

Broil over a clear, steady fire. Steady, even heat cooks the thick meat through while browning the skin. Flames or uneven heat can scorch the outside before the inside is cooked.

“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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