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Broiled Kidneys

A dish of kidneys broiled in butter, seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Broiled Kidneys

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Skin the kidneys carefully without slicing them.

  2. Soak the kidneys in warm melted butter for 10 minutes, turning them to baste evenly.

Broil and serve

  1. Broil the kidneys over a clear fire, turning every minute for about 12 minutes.

  2. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  3. Place on a hot dish with a bit of butter on each, and cover.

  4. Serve immediately.

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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

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

  2. Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together28,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Kidneys
Main protein; they firm and turn tender when cooked briefly over high heat.
Melted butter
Adds moisture and richness, and basting keeps the surface from drying during broiling.

The step that matters

Broil the kidneys over a clear fire, turning every minute. High heat tightens the proteins in kidney quickly, so overcooking makes it tough and dry. Turning often and basting with butter cooks the pieces evenly and helps the surface brown without burning.

“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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