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Haunch of Mutton

A roasted haunch of mutton served with a gravy made from mutton loin and burnt sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,147 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Haunch of Mutton

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the haunch

  1. Wash the haunch with warm milk and water or vinegar if necessary.

  2. Prepare a paste of coarse flour on strong paper.

  3. Wrap the haunch in the paste.

Roast

  1. Set the wrapped haunch on a cradle-spit at a distance from the fire.

  2. Cook the haunch for a proportionate time.

  3. Baste the haunch continually as it cooks.

  4. Remove the paste 35-40 minutes before serving.

Make the gravy and serve

  1. Simmer 1½ pounds of loin of mutton in 1 pint of water until reduced by half.

  2. Brown the gravy with a little burnt sugar.

  3. Serve the gravy with the haunch.

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. Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,147 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together15,338 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Mutton + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Butter + curranttop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,856 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

  5. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Butter and sauce barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,338 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 mutton
Is the main cut of meat, cooked whole and carved for serving.
Loin of old mutton
Simmered in water to make the gravy, giving it meaty flavour.
Burnt sugar
Browns the gravy and adds a slightly bitter, caramel flavour.

The step that matters

Wrapping and basting the haunch. The flour paste shields the meat from direct heat so it cooks gently, while regular basting keeps the surface moist. Neglecting either can dry out or scorch the joint.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, butter, sugar, sauce):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Coconutfits better
  3. Applefits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, butter, sugar, sauce. 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.

More haunch of mutton recipes

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