Why it works: Pepper and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Shoulder of Mutton Cutlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut two thin slices from the lean undercut of the mutton.
Sprinkle the slices lightly with coarse sea salt and black pepper if desired.
Cook and serve
Heat the butter in a small frying pan until hot.
Add the mutton slices and cook slowly, turning frequently until done.
Transfer the cutlets to a hot plate and pour over beef tea or thickened 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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Pepper + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Mutton + beeftop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,373 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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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Butter + beeftop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mutton
- Forms the main body of the dish and is the protein that cooks through and browns.
- Butter
- Conducts heat in the pan and adds fat, helping the cutlets brown and taste rich.
- Beef tea or thickened gravy
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour to the finished cutlets.
The step that matters
Cooking the mutton slowly, turning often. Cooking gently and turning frequently helps the heat reach the centre of the thin slices without scorching the outside, so the meat cooks through evenly and stays moist.
“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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