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Leg of Pork

A roasted leg of pork served with boiled savoy cabbage, potatoes, stuffing, and jam.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Pork and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,668 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Leg of Pork

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Prepare the pork

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Season the leg of pork and place it in a roasting pan.

  3. Roast the pork until fully cooked, about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Prepare the sides

  1. Prepare the savoy cabbage by boiling until tender.

  2. Boil the potatoes until soft.

  3. Make the stuffing according to your preferred recipe.

Serve

  1. Serve the pork with savoy, potatoes, and a side of jam.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Pork + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,668 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  2. Cabbage + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together275 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Pork + cabbagetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together919 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Leg of pork
Forms the main protein, which becomes tender and juicy as it cooks through slowly.
Potatoes
Starchy base that softens when boiled and absorbs flavour from the meal.
Savoy cabbage
Adds a tender, slightly sweet vegetable texture once boiled until soft.
Jam
Adds sweetness and acidity that contrasts with the rich, savoury pork.

The step that matters

Roast the pork until fully cooked. Pork must reach a safe internal temperature throughout, and a large cut can look done on the outside while still undercooked at the centre. Checking the thickest part with a thermometer, rather than relying only on the cooking time, prevents this.

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, potato):

  1. Onionfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Tomatofits better
  4. Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, potato. 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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