Why it works: Mutton and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,488 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Roast Shoulder of 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 joint
Roast the shoulder of mutton in the usual way.
After the first day, trim the fat to shape the joint neatly.
Remove the skin and brush the meat with beaten egg.
Sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs thickly over the meat.
Bake and serve
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Serve with brown gravy poured around the joint.
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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Mutton + breadtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,488 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Mutton + eggtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,648 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shoulder of mutton
- Provides the main body of meat that is roasted and shaped into the finished joint.
- Beaten egg
- Acts as a binder so the bread crumbs adhere to the surface of the meat.
- Seasoned bread crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned crust on the outside of the joint as it bakes.
- Brown gravy
- Adds moisture and savoury flavour to the sliced meat when served.
The step that matters
Sprinkle the bread crumbs thickly over the meat. Crumbs need an even, moist coating of egg to stick; bare or patchy spots may fall off or brown unevenly in the oven.
“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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