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Timbales of Chicken

A baked chicken paste filled in molds, topped with truffles and folded egg whites.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Meat and chicken are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,449 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Timbales of Chicken

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the paste

  1. Chop the chicken meat very fine and pound it to a smooth paste, gradually adding the cream.

  2. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then add the truffles.

  3. Add the unbeaten whites of 2 eggs one at a time, mixing each until fully incorporated.

  4. Beat the remaining 2 egg whites to a stiff froth and gently fold them into the mixture.

Bake and serve

  1. Fill greased timbale molds half full with the chicken paste.

  2. Place the molds in a pan of hot water, ensuring the water level matches the paste level inside the molds.

  3. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 30 minutes, or 35 to 40 minutes for a single large mold.

  4. Serve hot with a cream mushroom sauce.

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. Meat + chickentop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  2. Truffle + meattop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together527 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  3. Truffle + chickentop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together756 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).

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

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  5. Egg + truffletop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,604 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken
Forms the body of the timbale, giving a firm, sliceable structure once cooked.
Cream
Adds moisture and a smooth, tender texture to the chicken paste.
Egg whites
Set during baking to bind the paste and, when whipped, add lightness and rise.
Truffles
Contribute a strong, earthy aroma to the mixture.

The step that matters

Folding in the stiff egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that makes the timbale light; overmixing or stirring vigorously deflates them, leaving a dense result.

“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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