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Turkey-chick

A whole turkey split open like a chicken, roasted with butter and water, then basted and served with cresses or parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Turkey-chick

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Clean the turkey as directed in the cleaning poultry instructions.

  2. Split the turkey down the back and spread it open like a chicken for broiling.

  3. Rub the turkey all over with softened butter.

  4. Place the turkey in a roasting pan.

Bake

  1. Add the small pieces of butter and boiling water to the pan.

  2. Cover the pan tightly with another pan to keep in the steam.

  3. Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 45 to 60 minutes, basting occasionally.

Serve

  1. Transfer the turkey to a serving dish.

  2. Pour the pan butter over it.

  3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  4. Garnish with cresses or parsley.

  5. Serve.

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. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,592 recipes

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

  3. Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together28,563 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  4. Turkey + peppertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,636 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  5. Turkey + parsleytop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together532 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Turkey
Provides the main meat, which steams and roasts to become tender and juicy.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, and helps the skin brown and flavour the meat.

The step that matters

Covering the pan to keep in the steam. Trapping steam under a tight cover keeps the meat moist while it cooks. Removing the cover too early or leaving it loose lets moisture escape, which can dry the turkey and slow even cooking.

Swap the parsley

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, butter, pepper):

  1. Sagefits better
  2. Thymefits about as well
  3. Parsleythe original
  4. Marjoramfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, butter, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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