Why it works: Vinegar and mustard are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,067 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Deviled Rabbit
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a steady 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).
Place the rabbit in a dripping pan and pour boiling water over it.
Bake
Cover with another pan and bake, basting often with the hot water until tender.
Once tender, remove from the oven and keep warm on a hot dish.
Make the sauce and serve
In a cup, mix vinegar, butter, browned flour, mustard, cayenne, and salt.
Strain the gravy from the baking pan into a saucepan, add the vinegar mixture, and bring to a boil.
Pour the sauce over the rabbit, turning it to soak in the sauce.
Cover and return to the oven until very hot, about 5 minutes.
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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Vinegar + mustardtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,067 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rabbit + mustardtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together56 recipes
Shared aroma: geraniol (rose, geranium).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + mustardtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,066 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rabbit + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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
- Rabbit
- Is the main meat; baking it covered in water keeps it moist while it becomes tender.
- Browned flour
- Thickens the pan gravy and adds a toasted, nutty flavour to the sauce.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that cuts the richness of the butter and gravy.
- Butter
- Adds fat and smooth richness to the sauce.
- Mustard
- Adds sharpness and pungency that give the sauce its deviled character.
The step that matters
Return the rabbit to the oven covered until very hot. Once the sauce is poured over, the dish needs enough heat to warm the meat through and let it absorb the sauce. Too short a time leaves it lukewarm, while overlong heating can dry the meat.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rabbit, vinegar, butter, flour):
- Shallotfits about as well
- Mustardthe original
- Chivefits less well
- Arrowrootfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against rabbit, vinegar, butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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