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 Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut mutton chops from the rack, ensuring each has one bone.
Season with pepper and coarse sea salt.
Cook and serve
Broil the chops on a gridiron until cooked to your liking.
In a saucepan, combine hot water, butter, and ketchup; bring to a boil.
Pour the gravy over the chops before serving.
Twist curled paper on the end of each bone for presentation.
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).
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Mutton + ketchuptop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together367 recipes
Shared aroma: decanoic acid (soapy, waxy).
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Butter + ketchuptop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,784 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton chops
- Provide the meat, which browns and firms under the broiler's direct heat.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth body to the gravy.
- Ketchup
- Adds sweetness and acidity to the gravy.
The step that matters
Broil the chops until cooked to your liking. Meat keeps cooking after it leaves the heat, and thick chops can go from done to dry quickly. Checking doneness with a thermometer or by feel helps you stop at the right point.
“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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