Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Roast Haunch of Venison
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Wash the venison in warm water, then dry it well with a cloth.
Butter a sheet of white paper and place it over the fat of the venison.
Place the venison in a deep baking dish with a little boiling water.
Roast
Cover the venison with a lid or a thick paste; if using paste, lay a couple of layers of coarse paper over it.
Cook in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size.
About 20 minutes before it is done, increase the heat.
Remove the paste and paper.
Dredge the joint with flour.
Baste well with butter until it is nicely browned.
Serve
Garnish the knuckle bone with a frill of white paper.
Serve with gravy made from its own drippings, removing the fat.
Serve with very hot dishes and plates, alongside currant jelly.
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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Venison + curranttop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together443 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Venison + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + curranttop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,856 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Flour + curranttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,077 recipes
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
- Venison haunch
- Its lean meat and fat form the main body of the roast, which the fat protects during cooking.
- Butter
- Basting with butter helps the surface brown and adds richness and flavour.
- Flour
- Dredging the joint with flour helps build a browned, crisp outer crust.
- Currant jelly
- Its sweetness and acidity cut through the richness of the roasted venison.
The step that matters
Increasing the heat near the end. Raising the oven heat about 20 minutes before finishing helps brown the surface after the slow cooking. Doing this too early can dry the meat or over-darken the crust.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, butter, flour):
- Raisinfits about as well
- Currantthe original
- Red currantfits about as well
- Lemonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against venison, 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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