Why it works: Butter and flour 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 ↓
Mutton with Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the meat
Remove all bones from the shoulder and boil them down for stock.
Flatten the meat using a wetted rolling pin.
Season the meat with salt and pepper.
Spread the seasoned meat on the veal forcemeat.
Roll the meat tightly.
Bind the roll securely with string.
Roast
Melt the dripping in a baking tin.
Baste the meat well.
Place the meat in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C).
Cook gently for 1.5 hours, basting frequently.
Make the brown sauce
In a separate pan, fry the butter and flour until a brown roux forms.
Strain the roux into the stock made from the bones. Stir until it boils.
Season to taste.
Finish and serve
After 1.5 hours, drain off excess fat from the baking tin, leaving the sediment.
Pour the brown sauce into the tin.
Return to the oven and cook for an additional 30 minutes, basting frequently.
Serve on a hot dish, pouring a little sauce over the meat and serving the remainder in a sauceboat.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Mutton + vealtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,394 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-nonanal (fatty, waxy).
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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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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- Mutton shoulder
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender through gentle, slow roasting.
- Veal forcemeat
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour inside the roll as it cooks.
- Butter
- Fats the roux, carrying flavour and helping the sauce feel smooth and rich.
- Flour
- Thickens the sauce as it cooks into a brown roux with the butter.
- Dripping
- Conducts heat and promotes browning on the outside of the meat.
The step that matters
Frying the butter and flour to a brown roux. Cooking the roux long enough toasts the flour and builds colour and nutty flavour, but too little or too much heat can leave it pale and floury or scorched and bitter. Sauce thickness depends on it being cooked evenly.
“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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