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 ↓
Haunch of Venison, Roasted
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Choose a haunch with thick, bright fat and hang it for some time.
Wipe the haunch dry with a cloth.
Sprinkle pepper over the haunch.
Wash the haunch.
Dry the haunch well before cooking.
Encase and roast
Mix flour and water into a paste about ½ inch thick.
Spread the paste over the haunch.
Cover the paste with buttered paper.
Tie the buttered paper firmly with string.
Roast before a large fire, basting with dripping to prevent burning, for 3 to 4 hours.
Finish and serve
Remove the papers and paste 20 minutes before serving.
Baste the haunch well with butter.
Dredge the haunch with flour.
Baste again before serving with good 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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Vinegar + red curranttop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together188 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Venison + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Venison + red curranttop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together81 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Butter + red curranttop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together495 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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
- Haunch of venison
- Is the main meat, whose thick fat bastes the joint as it roasts.
- Flour
- Forms a paste that shields the meat and later dredges to build a crisp, browned crust.
- Clarified dripping
- Fat for basting that keeps the surface from burning and adds richness.
- Butter
- Enriches the surface during the final basting, adding flavour and gloss.
- Red currant jelly
- Adds sweetness and acidity to the accompanying sauce or gravy.
The step that matters
Roast before a large fire, basting with dripping. Long roasting under a fierce fire can scorch the exposed surface before the interior cooks through. Frequent basting with fat keeps the outside moist and prevents burning.
Swap the red currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, vinegar, flour, butter):
- Currantfits better
- Red currantthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Grapefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against venison, vinegar, 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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