Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Roast Turkey
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 the turkey
Singe the turkey and remove pin feathers.
Remove the entrails and crop, then wipe the turkey clean.
Stuff the turkey and truss the feet to the tail and the wings to the sides.
Rub the turkey with salt, pepper, and butter, then dredge lightly with flour.
Place turkey fat in a pan and lay the turkey on one side.
Roast
Roast in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).
When the flour begins to brown, check the heat.
Baste with melted butter mixed with hot water initially, then every 20 minutes with the fat in the pan.
Roast for about 3 hours, or 15 minutes per pound.
Add 1 pint of water as soon as the fat is brown.
Lay the turkey breast down to keep the white meat moist.
Turn as needed to brown evenly.
If the turkey browns too fast, cover with waxed paper.
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.
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Turkey + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,592 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
-
Turkey + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,636 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Turkey
- Main protein; slow roasting cooks the meat through while the skin browns.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the skin brown as it melts and bastes the bird.
- Flour
- Dusted on the skin, it browns into a crisp, golden surface.
- Turkey fat
- Conducts heat in the pan and helps the bird brown evenly on all sides.
- Water
- Added to the pan, it loosens browned drippings and keeps them from scorching.
The step that matters
Add the water when the fat is brown. Browned fat and drippings can scorch and turn bitter if left too long. Adding water at this point loosens the browned bits and makes a moist pan base, while adding it too early dilutes the browning.
“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.
More roast turkey recipes
You might also like
Turkey Soup71 recipes
Turkey Stuffing26 recipes
Turkey Dressing24 recipes
Turkey Patties12 recipesThe 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.