Why it works: Mutton and red wine work together. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 117 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓
To Dress a Neck of Mutton to Eat Like Venison
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the neck
Cut the neck of mutton broader than usual, leaving the flap of the shoulder attached.
Make small holes all over the neck with a sharp knife.
Marinate and dry
Pour the red wine over the neck and let it marinate for 4-5 days, turning and rubbing it 3-4 times a day.
Hang the neck in the open air (out of the sun) for 3 days, drying it with a cloth to prevent mustiness.
Roast and serve
Roast the neck, basting with the marinade or fresh wine if needed.
Wrap the roasted neck in 3-4 folds of white paper to retain fat.
Remove the skin after roasting 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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Mutton + red winetop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together117 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton neck
- Forms the main cut of meat that carries the flavour and texture of the dish.
- Red wine
- Marinates the meat, adding acidity and flavour that penetrate through the holes pierced in the neck.
The step that matters
Drying the neck after marinating. Hanging the neck in open air and drying it with a cloth removes surface moisture, which prevents mustiness and helps the meat stay fresh during the three days of hanging.
“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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