Why it works: Chicken and veal are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,243 recipes. Both carry 3-butanedione, which smells buttery, creamy. The science ↓
Chicken Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Divide the chickens into neat joints, cutting off the legs and wings at the first joint.
Boil the chicken parts with the backbones, necks, and gizzards for about 2 hours.
Strain the boiled chicken parts to use the liquid as stock.
Parboil the livers and chop them finely.
Mix the chopped livers with the forcemeat.
Cut the ham into strips.
Cut the eggs into slices.
Assemble and bake
Layer the chicken pieces and prepared ingredients in a pie dish.
Season the pie with salt and pepper.
Fill the pie with stock.
Roll out the puff pastry and cover the pie dish with it.
Ornament the pastry.
Brush the pastry with the yolk of egg.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 1 to 1.5 hours until the pastry is risen and set.
Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C) to finish baking.
Serve
Before serving, add the remaining hot stock to the pie.
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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Chicken + vealtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,243 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-butanedione (buttery, creamy).
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Chicken + hamtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Ham + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Ham + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,526 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Provides the main meat and, when boiled, the stock that moistens the filling.
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Add firm, sliced body and richness to the filling.
- Puff pastry
- Rises in the oven into flaky layers that form the crust.
- Egg yolk
- Brushed on the pastry to promote even browning and a glossy finish.
- Ham or bacon
- Adds salty, savoury flavour and fat to the filling.
The step that matters
Brushing and baking the pastry. Pastry must be fully risen and set before the oven is turned down. Egg yolk browns the crust evenly, while the lower second-stage heat finishes the filling without overbaking the pastry.
“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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