Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Broiled Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Split the chicken down the back and remove the entrails and breast bone.
Wipe the chicken clean and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Rub the chicken with soft butter.
Cook and serve
Place the chicken on a broiler over a slow fire, inside down, and cover with a pan.
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, then turn to brown the skin side.
Serve on a hot dish and spread with maitre d'hotel butter.
Garnish with parsley or watercress and lemon slices.
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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Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,037 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together34,122 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together27,047 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + parsleytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together28,563 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Provides the main protein, which firms as it cooks and forms the body of the dish.
- Soft butter
- Adds fat and moisture to the skin, helping it brown and stay tender during cooking.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the chicken and draws out surface moisture, aiding browning of the skin.
The step that matters
Turning to brown the skin side. The skin needs enough heat and time to crisp and brown without the meat drying out. Turning at the right moment balances both, so the skin browns evenly while the flesh stays juicy.
“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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