Why it works: Pepper and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Mutton Outlets
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Trim the mutton cutlets, removing gristle and fat, and cut them about ⅓ inch thick.
Shape and trim the cutlets neatly, then beat them with a cutlet bat dipped in water.
Season the cutlets with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Cook and serve
Broil the cutlets over a brisk fire until cooked through.
Serve with mashed or sautéed potatoes in the center of the dish.
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 + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Mutton + potatotop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together293 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
- Best end of the neck of mutton
- Provides the meat for the cutlets, with fat and gristle trimmed away before cooking.
- Mashed or sautéed potatoes
- Serves as the accompaniment that completes the dish on the plate.
The step that matters
Broil the cutlets over a brisk fire until cooked through. A brisk, high heat browns the outside quickly while the thin cutlets cook through. Too little heat lets the meat dry out before it browns; too long over heat can toughen it.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, pepper, butter):
- Potatothe original
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Carrotfits about as well
- Onionfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, pepper, butter. 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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