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Lamb, Shoulder Of, Grilled

Grilled lamb shoulder served with a cayenne and powdered sugar sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Lamb, Shoulder Of, Grilled

Ingredients

Directions

Simmer and score

  1. Boil the shoulder of lamb in water for 3-4 minutes.

  2. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

  3. Remove the lamb and score it in squares an inch apart.

Coat and broil

  1. Brush the scored lamb with egg yolk.

  2. Sprinkle seasoned breadcrumbs over the lamb.

  3. Broil the lamb over a clear fire until lightly browned.

Make and serve the sauce

  1. In a saucepan, mix cayenne with powdered sugar and white vinegar.

  2. Simmer until the sugar dissolves.

  3. Add claret and simmer for another 15 minutes.

  4. Serve the sauce hot with the lamb.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Pepper + marjoramtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,609 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Shoulder of lamb
Forms the main body of the dish, cooked gently before browning.
Egg yolk
Binds the seasoned breadcrumbs to the lamb so they stick during broiling.
Powdered sugar
Adds sweetness to the sauce and helps the sauce turn glossy and brown.
White vinegar
Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness of the sugar in the sauce.
Claret
Adds wine acidity and depth of flavour to the simmered sauce.
Dried herbs
Add aromatic, savoury flavour to the lamb's seasoning.

The step that matters

Broil the lamb over a clear fire until lightly browned. The egg yolk and breadcrumb coating browns quickly under direct high heat. Too long over the fire scorches the crust while the meat inside can dry out, so watch closely and stop at light browning.

Swap the thyme

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, egg, pepper, parsley, marjoram, sugar, vinegar):

  1. Tarragonfits about as well
  2. Thymethe original
  3. Dillfits about as well
  4. Rosemaryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, egg, pepper, parsley, marjoram, sugar, vinegar. 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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