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 ↓
Mutton Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the mutton chops nicely, removing all ragged ends and edges.
Fry the chops for a few moments, covered closely.
Bread and bake
Dip each piece in cracker crumbs.
Dip each piece in beaten egg.
Place the chops in a dripping pan.
Bake in the oven, basting frequently with melted butter and water.
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).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Mutton + eggtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,648 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton chops
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked until tender through browning and baking.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned coating that protects the meat's surface while it bakes.
- Beaten egg
- Acts as a binder that helps the cracker crumbs stick to the chops.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat that promotes browning and a rich flavour on the coating.
The step that matters
Basting frequently while baking. Regular basting with melted butter and water keeps the coating moist and helps it brown evenly, while the meat cooks through. Letting the surface dry out can leave the crumbs pale or tough.
“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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