Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Broiled Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the chicken
Split the chicken through the back and spread it out flat.
If the chicken is tender, place it in a wire broiler over moderate heat with the inside facing the fire.
Broil for 20 minutes without turning.
Turn the chicken, sprinkle with salt, and broil until the skin is a delicate, even brown.
Rub the skin with butter and serve.
Cook a tough chicken
If the chicken seems tough, place it in a skillet with water, cover, and boil for about 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken from the skillet, sprinkle the inside with salt, and rub the skin with butter.
Place the chicken in the wire broiler and set it in a hot oven (400°F / 200°C) over a tin plate.
Brown quickly with the skin side up.
Add cream or milk to the liquid in the skillet, using butter to taste.
Add salt and flour, boil for 3 minutes, then pour the mixture over a hot platter.
Place the chicken on the platter and serve.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Chicken + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,902 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Cream + flourtop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,481 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
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Chicken + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,241 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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
- Chicken
- Provides the meat that is cooked by broiling or simmering until tender and browned.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the skin, helping it brown and taste savoury.
- Cream or milk
- Adds moisture and richness to the pan liquid, making a smooth, creamy sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the pan liquid so the sauce becomes smooth and coats the chicken.
The step that matters
Broil without turning for 20 minutes, then turn and brown. Direct heat browns and dries the surface quickly, so the chicken can scorch or dry out if heat is too high or it is left too long. Turning lets the heat cook the inside evenly while the skin browns gently.
“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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