Name: Venison, Haunch Of, Roasted
Ingredients: 1 haunch of venison; flour; brown sauce or brown gravy; red currant jelly

Why it works: Venison and red currant work together. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Venison, Haunch Of, Roasted

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

1 haunch of venison
flour
brown sauce or brown gravy
red currant jelly

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Allow the haunch of venison to hang in a cool, dry place for about 14 days, checking daily for any unpleasant smell.
If the meat has an unpleasant smell, wash the affected parts with warm milk and water, dry thoroughly, and cover with ground ginger and pepper, washing it off before cooking.
Saw off the knuckle-bone and rub the haunch all over with clarified fat or dripping.

Roast

Wrap the haunch in well-greased paper and cover with a stiff paste made of flour and water, tying it securely with string.
Roast in a 350°F (175°C) oven or in front of a clear fire for 3 to 4 hours, basting frequently.

Serve

Within an hour of serving, remove the paper and paste, and serve with brown sauce or gravy and red currant jelly.

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.

Venison + red curranttop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together81 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Flour + saucetop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,078 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour + red curranttop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together394 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Venison + saucetop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together208 recipes
Venison + flourtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together667 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

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

What each ingredient does

Venison haunch: Is the main cut, whose flavor and tenderness develop through hanging and slow roasting.
Flour: Combined with water to form a stiff paste that encloses the meat and shields it during roasting.
Brown sauce or gravy: Adds moisture and savory depth to the carved meat at serving.
Red currant jelly: Adds sweetness and acidity that balance the rich, gamey flavor of the meat.

The step that matters

Roast in a 350°F (175°C) oven or in front of a clear fire for 3 to 4 hours, basting frequently.. Slow, moist heat breaks down connective tissue in a large lean cut. Frequent basting keeps the surface from drying out, so the meat stays tender and juicy.