Why it works: Sauce and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Soubise Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cutlets
Trim and flatten the cutlets into a good shape.
Brush the cutlets with oil or melted butter.
Cook and serve
Grill the cutlets over a clear fire for 8 to 10 minutes, turning 2 or 3 times.
Before serving, sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
Arrange the cutlets in a close circle on a border of mashed potatoes.
Serve the Soubise sauce in the center and pour the demi-glace around.
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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Sauce + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Sauce + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,303 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cutlets from the best end of the neck
- Provide the main meat, which browns and firms on the grill while staying tender inside.
- Soubise sauce
- Adds a smooth, onion-based richness that complements the grilled meat.
- Demi-glace or brown sauce
- Adds deep, savoury meaty flavour and gloss to the plate.
The step that matters
Grilling the cutlets over a clear fire. A clear, hot fire sears the surface quickly so it browns and seals in juices. Turning only 2 or 3 times lets the outside brown evenly without drying the meat, while the inside cooks through gently.
“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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