Why it works: Mutton and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,781 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Baked Mutton
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.
Bake the mutton
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Place the mutton in a baking pan and spread a little butter over it.
Pour enough cold water into the pan to cover the bottom.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes.
Baste the meat and place a piece of buttered paper on top.
If the bottom of the pan is dry, add more water.
If too much fat accumulates, pour off the fat and add cold water.
Continue cooking until a skewer or small knife can easily pierce the meat.
Serve
Serve with its own gravy.
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 + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,781 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender as it cooks slowly in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the surface of the meat, aiding browning and flavour.
- Cold water
- Forms a moist base in the pan that keeps the meat from drying out and helps make gravy.
The step that matters
Checking the pan and fat during baking. If the bottom of the pan dries out, the meat can scorch and toughen, so adding water keeps moisture present. Excess fat should be poured off so the meat roasts rather than fries in it.
“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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