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The Doctor's Mutton-Steak, Fried

A fried mutton steak served with mushroom ketchup, vegetables, broth, and wine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Turnip and sorrel match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 179 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

The Doctor's Mutton-Steak, Fried

Ingredients

Directions

Season and grill

  1. Season both sides of the mutton steaks with salt and pepper.

  2. Grill the steaks over a charcoal fire, turning them several times.

Serve

  1. Serve the steaks on a hot dish and pour mushroom ketchup over each.

Braise

  1. Brown the steaks in a frying pan or shallow stew pan.

  2. Cover the steaks with seasonal vegetables.

  3. Moisten with mutton broth and wine.

  4. Cover tightly and simmer gently over low heat, shaking occasionally to prevent sticking.

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. Turnip + sorreltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together179 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,173 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  3. Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,002 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Turnip + celerytop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,418 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Mutton steaks
Main protein; slow simmering softens its connective tissue into tender, juicy meat.
Mushroom ketchup
Adds savory, umami depth to the meat and its juices.
Mutton broth
Supplies moisture and body for the gentle simmer, keeping the steaks from drying out.
White or red wine
Adds acidity and aromatic flavor to the braising liquid.
Seasonal vegetables
Contribute gentle sweetness and freshness as they cook in the braising liquid.

The step that matters

Simmering covered over low heat. Gentle, low heat breaks down connective tissue slowly so the meat turns tender without tightening. Too much heat toughens the meat, evaporates the liquid and makes the steaks stick, so the pan needs occasional shaking.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, pepper, mushroom, carrot, turnip, celery, sorrel):

  1. Lentilsfits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Chestnutfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, pepper, mushroom, carrot, turnip, celery, sorrel. 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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