Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Broiled Partridge
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the partridge by dividing and flattening it.
Season the bird with coarse sea salt and black pepper or cayenne.
Coat and broil
Dip the partridge into clarified butter, then coat it with fine bread crumbs.
For a better appearance, dip it a second time in butter and crumbs.
Broil the partridge over a clear fire for 20 to 30 minutes.
Serve
Serve with brown mushroom sauce or Espagnole sauce.
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.
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Butter + mushroomtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,525 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Bread + mushroomtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Pepper + breadtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 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
- Partridge
- Is the main protein, cooked whole in pieces so heat reaches the meat through the coating.
- Clarified butter
- Carries heat into the coating and promotes golden browning while keeping the surface moist.
- Fine bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned crust that protects the meat during broiling.
The step that matters
Broiling over a clear fire. Heat must cook the bird through in 20 to 30 minutes while the crumb crust browns. Too hot a fire scorches the coating before the meat is done; too cool a fire dries the bird without browning it.
“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.
You might also like
The 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.
Brown Bread461 recipes
White Bread80 recipes
Bread Omelette60 recipes
Mushroom Soup60 recipes