Why it works: Bread and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Broiled Chicken
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
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Split the chicken down the back for broiling.
Season the chicken with coarse sea salt and sprinkle thickly with fine bread crumbs.
Place the chicken on a rack in a baking pan.
Cook and serve
Broil the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes over moderate heat.
Transfer the chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes to ensure thorough cooking.
Serve with butter or tartar sauce.
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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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Chicken + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,258 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).
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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
- Whole chicken
- Provides the meat that is cooked through by broiling and then baking.
- Fine bread crumbs
- Coat the surface, helping form a crisp, lightly browned crust during cooking.
The step that matters
Transfer the chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes. Broiling browns the outside quickly but may not cook the thick parts through. Finishing in the oven at the stated temperature allows heat to reach the centre gently, so the meat is fully cooked without burning the crumb coating.
“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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