Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
To Cook a Joint of Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the joint
Put the joint in cold water with one onion, some salt and pepper; let it boil for two hours or until tender, but not until it boils to pieces.
Transfer the joint to a large baking pan.
Stuff and roast
Stuff the joint with bread crumbs seasoned with pepper, salt, chopped onion, spices, herbs, and jelly.
Moisten the crumbs with butter or melted lard.
Pour a pint, or a little more, of water into the pan.
Place slices of fat bacon on the mutton.
Make the gravy and serve
If the gravy is very greasy, skim a good deal of fat before adding the wine.
Just before serving, add to the gravy one pint wine, one tablespoonful jelly, and a little spice.
The joint should be put on the table about 9 o'clock.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Wine + peppertop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,066 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Wine + oniontop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,784 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton joint (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender through long gentle boiling.
- Bread crumbs (in the method)
- Absorb the butter or lard and fill the cavity, keeping the stuffing moist.
- Butter or lard (in the method)
- Moistens the crumbs and adds richness to the stuffing.
- Bacon (in the method)
- Lays fat over the mutton, basting it and adding savoury flavour as it cooks.
- Wine
- Added to the gravy for acidity and depth of flavour.
- Jelly
- Adds sweetness and body to the stuffing and the gravy.
The step that matters
Boiling the joint. Boiling for the stated two hours, or until tender, softens the meat's connective tissue; boiling longer makes the joint fall apart, as the record warns.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wine, pepper):
- Tomatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against wine, pepper. 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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