Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Broiled Partridge
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the partridge by dividing and flattening it.
Season the bird with coarse sea salt and black pepper or cayenne.
Coat
Dip the partridge in clarified butter, then coat it with fine bread crumbs, ensuring even coverage.
For a better appearance, dip it a second time in butter and crumbs.
Broil and serve
Broil the partridge over a clear fire for 20 to 30 minutes.
Serve with brown mushroom sauce or Espagnole.
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Bread + mushroomtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Partridge
- Provides the lean meat that is cooked and served as the main element of the dish.
- Clarified butter
- Carries fat over the surface, promoting browning and a golden, crisp coating.
- Bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned crust that helps seal in moisture during broiling.
The step that matters
Coating with butter and crumbs evenly. Even coverage with clarified butter and fine crumbs gives a uniform crust. Gaps let the meat dry out and scorch unevenly under the direct heat of the broiler.
“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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