Why it works: Meat and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 28% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,529 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
On Roasting Meat
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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Allow 15 minutes of cooking time per pound in warm weather, and 20 minutes in winter.
Flour the meat well and place it in a roasting pan with ½ cup of water.
Roast
Start roasting with the bony side facing the fire.
Keep the meat at a distance to avoid scorching.
Turn the meat often until all sides are slightly cooked.
Move the meat closer to the fire.
When the meat is about half done, flour it again.
Baste the meat frequently.
Finish
Salt the meat 30 minutes before serving to retain its juices.
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.
-
Meat + flourtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,529 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Meat
- Provides the protein structure that firms and browns as it cooks, releasing juices with heat.
- Flour
- Forms a coating that helps the surface brown and develop a crust during roasting.
The step that matters
Keep the meat at a distance to avoid scorching.. Strong direct heat browns and burns the surface before the interior cooks through. Keeping distance lets heat penetrate gradually, so the outside browns evenly without charring.
“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.
You might also like
Meat Croquettes52 recipes
Meatballs37 recipes
Mince Meat37 recipes
Meat Cakes35 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.