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 Kidneys En Brochette Au Petit Salé
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Split the mutton kidneys in half without separating them, remove the skin, and place in a deep plate.
Season the kidneys with salt, pepper, and sweet oil, then roll them well.
Skewer two kidneys together on a skewer, repeating for the remaining kidneys.
Cook and serve
Broil the skewers for 4 minutes on each side.
Arrange the skewers on a hot dish, pour the maitre d'hotel butter over them, and cover with the broiled bacon.
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).
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Mutton + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,781 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 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 kidneys
- Provide the main meaty texture and rich, distinctive flavour of the dish.
- Sweet oil
- Adds moisture and fat so the kidneys stay tender and brown evenly under the broiler.
- Maitre d'hotel butter
- Adds fat and herby flavour that melts over the hot skewers and enriches them.
- Broiled bacon
- Adds salty, smoky fat and crisp contrast over the kidneys.
The step that matters
Broil the skewers for 4 minutes on each side. Kidneys are delicate and overcooking makes them firm and dry, while undercooking leaves them soft and unsafe. Timing on each side gives an even, tender result with a browned surface.
“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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