Why it works: Port wine and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,499 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
To Roast Mutton Like Venison
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Cure and hang
Rub the leg of mutton with coarse sea salt.
Hang the leg in a moist place for 2 days.
Wipe the leg with a cloth 2-3 times a day.
Roast
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
Boil 1 quart of port wine.
Pour the hot port wine over the mutton.
Cover the mutton tightly.
Roast for 2 hours, basting frequently with butter or meat sauce.
Roast for an additional 1.5 hours until cooked through.
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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Port wine + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,499 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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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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Mutton + port winetop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together344 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Leg of mutton
- Is the main cut of meat that becomes tender and juicy through long roasting.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the meat deeply and draws out moisture during the curing period.
- Port wine
- Adds sweetness and depth of flavour, and moistens the meat while it is covered.
- Butter or meat sauce
- Adds fat and moisture to the surface, encouraging browning during basting.
The step that matters
Cover the mutton tightly after pouring the port. Covering traps steam around the meat, keeping the surface moist and helping the joint cook through gently without drying out. Uncovered, the exposed outside dries and toughens before the centre is done.
“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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