Why it works: Chicken and beef match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,148 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓
Chicken and Ham Sandwiches
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Chop the chicken and ham or beef tongue very finely.
Mix the meats with hot beef gravy and curry powder, then heat over low flame for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
Make the sandwiches
Use a round cutter to stamp out circular pieces from the bread slices and fry them until light yellow.
Spread a layer of the meat mixture between two fried bread pieces.
Top each sandwich with a small piece of mashed cheese mixed with butter.
Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for a few minutes until hot.
Alternative style
For a different style, spread butter and a little dry mustard on thin bread slices, adding a thin slice of boiled tongue or chicken breast between them.
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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Chicken + beeftop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,148 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Roquefort cheese + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together35 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-decalactone (peach, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Beef + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,032 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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
- Cold boiled chicken
- Provides the main body and bulk of the savoury filling.
- Lean boiled ham or beef tongue
- Adds meaty flavour and body to the filling alongside the chicken.
- Hot beef gravy
- Moistens the chopped meat and carries the seasoning through the filling.
- Cheddar or roquefort cheese
- Adds rich, savoury flavour and melts into the top of the sandwich when baked.
- Day-old bread
- Sturdier slices hold the filling well and crisp when fried.
The step that matters
Heating the meat mixture with gravy. Stirring constantly over low heat keeps the chopped meat and gravy from scorching or sticking to the pan, and warms it evenly before assembly.
Swap the mustard
The recipe marks mustard as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, beef, bread, roquefort cheese, butter, flour):
- Onionfits better
- Potatofits better
- Tomatofits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, beef, bread, roquefort cheese, 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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