Why it works: Mutton and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,442 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Mutton Chop
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Trim the mutton chop neatly.
Season both sides with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Grease a clean hanging gridiron or grill.
Heat the grill until hot.
Grill
Place the chop on the grill without piercing it.
Brown one side, then turn the chop using tongs or a spoon and fork.
Repeat turning the chop until it has been turned six times.
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 + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 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 chop
- Provides the meat, which browns on the hot grill and becomes tender when cooked through.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the surface of the meat and helps draw out moisture to form a flavourful crust.
The step that matters
Place the chop on the grill without piercing it.. Piercing the meat lets juices escape, which dries the chop and reduces its flavour. Turning with tongs or a spoon and fork keeps the surface intact.
“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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