Why it works: Chicken and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 13,902 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Broiled Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Wash and wipe the chicken thoroughly.
Place a piece of bacon under each wing.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and butter.
Broil and serve
Broil the chicken for 20 minutes over a clear fire, turning to brown evenly.
Ensure the flesh side is exposed to the fire most of the time.
Remove the chicken to a hot platter, spread with soft butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
For a safer option, bake the chicken skin side down in a dripping pan for 15 minutes at 400°F (200°C) before broiling.
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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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,958 recipes
Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Provides the main protein, which cooks through and browns on the outside under direct heat.
- Bacon
- Renders fat as it cooks, basting the chicken and adding savory flavor.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture, and helps the skin brown and taste rich.
The step that matters
Keep the flesh side exposed to the fire most of the time. Direct heat cooks the thick meat through while the skin browns; turning evenly prevents scorching on one side and undercooked spots on the other.
“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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