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Rolled Mutton

A roasted rolled mutton shoulder seasoned with spices, onions, and herbs, served with a gravy of bones, wine, and condiments.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 21 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Rolled Mutton

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the mutton

  1. Bone the shoulder of mutton carefully, keeping the skin intact.

  2. Cut all the meat from the skin and mince it finely.

  3. Season the minced meat with black pepper, Jamaica pepper, nutmeg, clove, parsley, lemon thyme, sweet marjoram, and pounded onion.

  4. Mix the seasoned meat with the beaten egg yolk.

  5. Roll the mixture tightly in the skin and tie it securely.

Bake and make the gravy

  1. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the mutton.

  2. Make gravy from the bones and parings, seasoning with onion, pepper, and salt.

  3. Strain and thicken the gravy with flour and butter.

  4. Add vinegar, mushroom catsup, soy sauce, lemon pickle, and port wine to the gravy.

  5. Garnish with forcemeat balls made from grated bread and part of the mince.

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. Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  3. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Shoulder of mutton
Forms the main body of the dish, with its meat and skin rolled together.
Egg yolk
Binds the minced meat so it holds together when rolled and baked.
Flour
Thickens the gravy so it has body rather than running thin.
Butter
Enriches the thickened gravy and adds smooth, rounded flavour.
Port wine
Adds sweetness and depth of flavour to the finished gravy.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the gravy and balances the rich meat.

The step that matters

Rolling and tying the mutton. The mixture must be rolled tightly and tied securely so it keeps its shape and does not open or lose juices while baking. Loose rolling lets the filling spread and dry out unevenly.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, pepper, nutmeg, parsley, lemon, thyme, marjoram):

  1. Winter savoryfits better
  2. Sagefits better
  3. Rosemaryfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, pepper, nutmeg, parsley, lemon, thyme, marjoram. 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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