Why it works: Rabbit and liver work together. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 233 recipes. Both carry geraniol, which smells rose, geranium. The science ↓
To Roast Rabbits
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Lard the rabbit and wrap it in paper.
Roast
Roast the rabbit like you would hare or fowl, basting it well to keep it moist.
Do not remove the paper until just before browning it lightly.
Finish and serve
Froth the rabbit well and serve it with the liver rubbed down in the gravy.
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 + livertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together233 recipes
Shared aroma: geraniol (rose, geranium).
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Rabbit + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,448 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + livertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,065 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rabbit
- Forms the main meat, which cooks through during roasting and is browned at the end.
- Lard
- Adds fat that keeps the lean rabbit moist and helps the surface brown.
- Gravy
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour to the meat when served.
- Liver
- Rubbed into the gravy to add body and richer flavour.
The step that matters
Removing the paper before browning. The paper shields the rabbit so it stays moist while it cooks. Removing it only just before browning lets the surface take colour and dry slightly without overcooking the meat inside.
“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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