Why it works: Ham and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
Turkey, Roast
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the turkey
Draw the turkey.
Singe the turkey.
Wipe the turkey inside with a clean wet cloth.
Cut off the feet.
Remove the sinews from the thighs.
Place the liver and gizzard in the wings.
Stuff the breast with forcemeat.
Truss the turkey for roasting.
Roast
Place it in a baking tin with some dripping.
Roast in a hot oven for the first 15 minutes.
Cook gently.
Baste frequently.
Dredge with flour.
Return to the oven, basting until brown and frothy.
Remove the skewers and string.
Make the gravy and serve
Place the turkey on a hot dish.
Make gravy using the stock from boiled giblets.
Strain some gravy around the turkey.
Garnish with previously fried sausages.
Serve with bread sauce and boiled ham or bacon, with the remaining gravy in a tureen.
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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Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Turkey + breadtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together822 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Turkey + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together303 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Turkey + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together393 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
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Veal + hamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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, cooking to tender meat as it roasts.
- Forcemeat
- Stuffing that flavours the breast meat and adds moisture as it cooks inside the bird.
- Dripping
- Fat in the tin that conducts heat and helps the skin roast to a golden brown.
- Flour
- Dusted over the bird so it forms a crisp, browned crust when returned to the oven.
- Giblet stock
- Liquid base for the gravy, adding savoury depth to the sauce.
The step that matters
Cook gently after the first 15 minutes of high heat. A hot start sets and browns the skin, but continued high heat dries lean turkey meat and toughens its proteins. Gentle cooking with regular basting lets the interior cook through while keeping the meat moist.
“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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