Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Croquettes of Lobster
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mixture
Mince the lobster meat and mix with melted butter (not hot).
Add the powdered hard-boiled egg yolks, anchovy sauce, lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper, mace, lemon peel, and raw egg yolks, then mix well.
Incorporate the bread crumbs until combined.
Shape and chill
Form the mixture into oblong balls.
Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Fry and drain
Fry the croquettes quickly in deep cottolene or lard until golden.
Drain excess fat by rolling each croquette on a hot, clean cloth.
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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Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Lobster + anchovytop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together470 recipes
Shared aroma: octanal (fat, soap).
-
Lobster + saucetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,095 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Bread + anchovytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,260 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster meat
- Forms the main body and flavor of the croquettes.
- Eggs
- Raw yolks bind the mixture so it holds its shape when fried.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the lobster mixture.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb moisture and give the mixture body and a crisp outer crust.
- Hard-boiled egg yolks
- Add richness and help thicken the mixture into a firm, pliable paste.
The step that matters
Refrigerate for 2 hours. Chilling firms the butter and egg-bound mixture so the croquettes keep their shape. Without it, they may spread or break apart in the hot fat.
“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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