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Angels on Horseback

A toasted bread appetizer topped with anchovy puree, bacon, warmed oysters, parsley, and oyster liquor.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,062 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Angels on Horseback

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the bread

  1. Fry the bread pieces in clarified butter until golden brown.

  2. Spread anchovy puree over the fried bread.

  3. Top with a slice of fried bacon.

Warm the oysters

  1. Warm the oysters in the oven between two plates with butter and their liquor, seasoned with nutmeg.

  2. Place the warmed oysters on top of the bacon.

Finish and serve

  1. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and arrange on a plate.

  2. Pour oyster liquor around the bread and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Nutmeg + parsleytop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Anchovy + oystertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together603 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Bread + anchovytop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,260 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).

  5. Butter + oystertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Bread
Provides a crisp, golden base that holds the toppings.
Clarified butter
Fries the bread evenly, giving browning and a rich flavour.
Anchovy puree
Adds salty, savoury depth that seasons the bread base.
Bacon
Adds crisp texture and smoky, salty fat against the soft oysters.
Oysters
Provide the tender, briny centrepiece that softens when gently warmed.
Oyster liquor
Adds moisture and concentrated oyster flavour to the dish.

The step that matters

Warming the oysters. Oysters overcook quickly and turn rubbery when heated too long or too hot. Gentle warming in butter and their liquor keeps them plump while the liquor adds moisture and flavour.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, butter, anchovy, oyster, parsley):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Marjoramfits about as well
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, butter, anchovy, oyster, parsley. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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