Why it works: Rabbit and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,448 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Browned Rabbit
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the rabbit thoroughly in several waters.
Season the rabbit well with coarse sea salt and black pepper, mixing to ensure each piece is coated.
Cook and brown
Heat 1 tablespoon of lard in a skillet over medium heat.
Add the rabbit and the seasoned mixture, cover tightly, and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover, add 2 tablespoons of lard, and brown each piece nicely without burning.
Make the gravy and serve
On a warm meat plate, combine 2 tablespoons of butter, ½ cup of hot water, and a little salt and pepper.
As the pieces brown, dip each one in the butter gravy and serve on the same plate.
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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Rabbit + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,448 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Rabbit + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,334 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-pentylpyridine (fat).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rabbit
- Is the main protein; browning in lard develops flavour on its surface while the covered cooking keeps the meat tender.
- Lard
- Conducts heat for searing and adds fat that helps the rabbit brown evenly without sticking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and body to the gravy, giving the pan juices a smooth, savoury coating.
The step that matters
Browning without burning. Lard can scorch at high heat and turn the surface bitter, so the pieces should be browned over moderate heat, turning as needed, until golden. Burnt fat and bits of meat spoil the flavour of the whole dish.
“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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