Why it works: Salmon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,481 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
Broiled Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your grill or broiler.
Clean and gut the salmon, removing any bones.
Season the salmon with herbs and butter.
Cook and serve
Place the salmon on the grill or under the broiler.
Cook for about 10-15 minutes, turning halfway through, until the fish is cooked through.
Serve hot.
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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Salmon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,481 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
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish and cooks to flaky, moist fish.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, helping the surface stay moist and brown lightly under heat.
- Herbs
- Add aroma and flavor to the fish as it cooks.
The step that matters
Cook through without drying out. Fish cooks quickly under intense heat, so turning halfway helps it cook evenly. Overcooking squeezes out moisture and makes the flesh dry and firm, so check for opaque, flaky flesh.
“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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