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Broiled Fish

Broiled fish seasoned with salt and pepper, served with butter and potatoes a la maitre d'hotel.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Broiled Fish

Why it works: Pepper and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Broiled Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wipe the fish clean.

  2. Sprinkle the fish with coarse sea salt and black pepper.

Cook

  1. Place the fish in a well-oiled broiler.

  2. Cook the fish over a clear fire until done.

  3. Remove the fish from the broiler.

Finish and serve

  1. Spread softened butter over the fish and season with more salt and pepper.

  2. Serve with potatoes a la maitre d'hotel.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

  1. Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,488 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Fish + potatotop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together134 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  5. Fish + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,948 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the fish as it melts over the surface.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the fish and draws out some surface moisture before cooking.

The step that matters

Cook the fish over a clear fire until done. Broiling cooks the fish by intense radiant heat from above, so it can dry out or scorch quickly. Watching for doneness, rather than going by time alone, keeps the flesh moist and evenly cooked.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, pepper, butter):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Potatothe original
  3. Tomatofits less well
  4. Asparagusfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, pepper, butter. 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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