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Chicken, Timbales of

Chicken timbales are steamed chicken-filled macaroni rings topped with béchamel sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Chicken, Timbales of

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender.

  2. Cut the macaroni into rings about ½ inch thick.

  3. Line several well-buttered timbale molds with the macaroni rings, arranging them evenly.

Fill and steam

  1. Prepare the chicken puree as directed for Chicken Soufflé.

  2. Fill the prepared molds with the chicken mixture.

  3. Steam the timbales for 25 to 35 minutes.

Serve

  1. Arrange the timbales on a hot dish, pour the béchamel sauce around, and serve.

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. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,787 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,902 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  5. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Raw chicken
Forms the main body of the timbale, setting into a tender, sliceable mixture when steamed.
Egg whites
Whisked into the mixture to add structure and lift, helping the timbale set firm yet light.
Egg yolk
Enriches the mixture and helps it set smoothly with a rich texture.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the chicken mixture soft and tender as it steams.
Butter
Greases the molds so the macaroni rings release cleanly and add a little richness.
Macaroni
Forms the outer shell of each timbale, giving it a shape and a firm edge.

The step that matters

Steam the timbales for 25 to 35 minutes. Egg proteins set gently with steam; too much heat or time can curdle and toughen the chicken mixture, leaving it grainy and dry.

“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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