Why it works: Turkey and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,592 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓
Baked Turkey
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Three days after hanging the turkey, wipe the outside with a damp cloth and clean the inside.
Truss the turkey and place it in a baking pan.
Mix 2 teaspoons of salt with ½ pint of water or stock and pour it into the pan.
Rub the breast of the turkey with butter.
Roast
Place the turkey in a very hot oven (400°F / 200°C) to brown quickly.
Once browned, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and roast for 15 minutes per pound, basting every 20 minutes.
If the liquid in the pan evaporates, tilt the turkey to use the melted fat for basting.
Stuffing can be added halfway through cooking, but adjust the cooking time accordingly.
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.
-
Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Turkey
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked through by slow roasting in the oven.
- Butter
- Rubbed on the breast to add fat, helping the skin brown in the hot oven.
The step that matters
Browning in a very hot oven. Starting at high heat browns the breast quickly through the Maillard reaction, creating colour and flavour before the oven is lowered for the slower roast.
“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.
More roasted turkey recipes
You might also like
Turkey Soup71 recipes
Turkey Stuffing26 recipes
Turkey Dressing24 recipes
Turkey Patties12 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.