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Broiled or Grilled Chickens

A method of cooking whole chickens by broiling or grilling, basted with butter and seasoned with salt and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,172 recipes. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓

Broiled or Grilled Chickens

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Prepare the chickens by removing feathers and singeing them. Wash and dry them thoroughly.

  2. Cut the chickens down the back and truss the legs and wings as for boiling.

  3. Flatten the chickens and place them on a cold grill.

  4. Once they are slightly dry, transfer them to a plate.

  5. Baste the chickens with butter.

  6. Sprinkle coarse sea salt and black pepper inside the chickens.

Grill and serve

  1. Place the seasoned side down on the grill.

  2. Baste frequently.

  3. Broil slowly for about 30 minutes.

  4. Serve hot with melted butter poured over them or with stewed mushrooms.

  5. Optionally, broil the livers and gizzards. Season the livers and gizzards well.

  6. Serve the livers and gizzards alongside the chickens.

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. Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  2. Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,525 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  3. Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

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

  5. Mushroom + livertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together572 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

Chickens
Provide the main meat, which cooks through over the grill while the skin crisps.
Butter
Adds moisture and richness to the skin as it bastes, aiding browning and flavour.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the meat inside and draws out flavour from the bird.

The step that matters

Broil slowly and baste frequently. Slow heat lets the thick meat cook through before the skin burns, while repeated basting with butter keeps the surface moist and promotes even browning.

“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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