Why it works: Turkey and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,592 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓
Potted Turkey
Ingredients
Directions
If using a whole turkey, pot it whole; otherwise, cut it into neat joints or pick the flesh from the bones and pound it.
Thickly cover the meat with clarified butter to ensure it keeps.
If using joints, pack them closely together to minimize the amount of butter needed.
For boned and stuffed birds, ensure they are fresh, cleaned, seasoned, baked, and completely cooled before potting.
Pour clarified butter over the meat in the jars.
If storing for a long time, cover the jar with bladder and tie it down securely.
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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Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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