Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Saddle of Venison
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Trim the leg of venison by sawing off the shank and removing the hard outer parts.
Wash and dry the meat.
Brush the meat with a little butter to prevent sticking.
Encase and roast
Mix 2 pounds of flour with 2 cups of cold water to form a soft paste.
Roll out the paste and cover the meat completely, sealing all holes.
Place the covered meat in a baking pan with a little water to prevent burning.
Roast in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, moistening the paste with water occasionally.
Finish and serve
Once nearly done, remove from the paste and quickly brown in a hot oven.
Serve with currant jelly and natural gravy.
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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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Venison + curranttop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together443 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Venison + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + curranttop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,856 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Flour + curranttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,077 recipes
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Venison
- Forms the main meat, which the paste crust encloses and protects during roasting.
- Flour
- Mixed with water to make a paste that forms a sealed crust around the meat.
- Butter
- Light coating on the meat that helps keep it from sticking to the paste.
- Currant jelly
- Adds sweetness and acidity to balance the rich, gamey meat.
The step that matters
Sealing the paste crust. Any gaps let juices escape and dry the meat, so the paste must cover it completely. Keeping the paste moist with occasional water keeps it pliable and prevents it from burning or cracking during the long roast.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, flour, butter):
- Raisinfits about as well
- Currantthe original
- Red currantfits about as well
- Lemonfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against venison, flour, butter. 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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