Why it works: Liver and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,418 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Liver and Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the bacon
Cut bacon into thin slices and fry until all the fat is rendered.
Keep the bacon warm in the oven.
Cook the liver
Scald the liver in boiling water and cut it into slices.
Dust each liver slice lightly with flour.
Fry the liver slices in the bacon fat until browned.
Serve
Arrange the liver on a platter and top with the bacon.
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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Liver + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,418 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Calves' liver
- Is the main protein; frying it briefly keeps the slices tender and browned on the outside.
- Bacon
- Renders fat for frying the liver and adds salty, savory flavor when served on top.
- Flour
- Light dusting helps the liver slices brown and gives a slightly crisp surface.
The step that matters
Fry the liver slices in the bacon fat until browned. Liver is delicate and overcooks quickly, becoming dry and grainy. Cooking over moderate heat only until browned keeps the inside tender while the flour-dusted surface browns.
“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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