Why it works: Rabbit and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,448 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Broiled Rabbits
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Skin and clean the rabbits, then wipe them dry.
Split the rabbits down the back lengthwise and pound them flat.
Broil
Wrap the rabbits in well-buttered parchment paper.
Place them on a buttered grill and broil over a clear, brisk fire, turning often.
Once cooked, remove the paper and place the rabbits on a very hot platter.
Season with salt, pepper, and plenty of butter, turning to soak up the butter.
Cover and keep hot in a warming oven until served.
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 + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,448 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Rabbit + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,334 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-pentylpyridine (fat).
-
Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rabbits
- Form the main body of the dish, cooked until tender over direct heat.
- Butter
- Adds moisture and richness, and helps the rabbit brown and stay juicy while broiling.
The step that matters
Broil over a clear, brisk fire, turning often. High, direct heat cooks the flattened rabbit quickly, browning the outside. Turning often spreads the heat evenly and prevents scorching, while the buttered parchment protects the meat from drying out before it is cooked through.
“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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