Why it works: Chicken and ham are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,497 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Rissoles of Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the filling
Finely mince the remains of a cold chicken and half the quantity of lean, cold ham.
Mix the minced chicken and ham well, adding enough white sauce to moisten the mixture.
Shape the rissoles
Roll out the light pastry to about ¼ inch thick and cut into pieces measuring 1 inch by 2 inches.
Place a small amount of the mixture in the center of half the pastry pieces and cover with the other halves.
Press the edges together to seal and form into little rolls.
Fry and serve
Heat plenty of boiling hot lard or other frying medium in a frying pan.
Fry the rissoles until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
Drain well and serve immediately on a napkin.
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.
-
Chicken + hamtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,497 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Ham + saucetop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,314 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Chicken + saucetop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,513 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold chicken
- Provides the main savoury filling bulk, with its texture held together by the sauce.
- Lean cold ham
- Adds salty, savoury flavour to the chicken filling.
- White sauce
- Moistens the minced filling so it stays tender and does not dry out.
- Light pastry
- Encloses the filling and crisps and browns when fried, forming the outer crust.
- Lard
- Conducts heat to brown and crisp the pastry quickly and adds richness.
The step that matters
Sealing the edges. If the pastry edges are not pressed firmly closed, the filling can leak into the hot fat and the rissoles may open or break apart while frying.
“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.
Chicken Broth257 recipes
Chicken Soup156 recipes
Creamed Chicken89 recipes
Chicken Panada75 recipes