Why it works: Pepper and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Shoulder of Mutton Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Sprinkle the mutton slices lightly with salt and pepper if desired.
Heat the butter in a small frying pan until hot.
Add the mutton slices and cook slowly, turning frequently until done.
Serve
Transfer the cutlets to a hot plate and pour beef tea or thickened gravy over them.
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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Pepper + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mutton + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,373 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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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Butter + beeftop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton shoulder
- Forms the main body of the cutlets and provides the meat flavour.
- Butter
- Conducts heat in the pan and adds richness and browning to the surface.
- Beef tea or thickened gravy
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour when poured over the cooked cutlets.
The step that matters
Cook slowly, turning frequently. Slow cooking over moderate heat lets the thin slices cook through to the centre before the outside over-browns and dries. Frequent turning promotes even cooking on both faces, keeping the meat tender and juicy.
“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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