Name: Braized Leg of Mutton, a LA Provencale
Ingredients: 1 leg of mutton (bone-in); Seasoned lardoons or fillets of ham or fat bacon; Provencale stuffing (see below); 2 carrots, chopped; 2 turnips, chopped; 2 stalks of celery, chopped; 6 whole cloves; 2 blades of mace; 2 garnished faggots (herb bundles); 6 cloves of garlic, crushed; ½ bottle of sherry; 2 large ladlefuls of good fresh stock; Butter (for paper); Tomatoes or mushrooms (for garnish); Gasconne sauce (for serving)

Why it works: Carrot and celery match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,173 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

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.

Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Carrot + turniptop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,002 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Turnip + celerytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,418 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Turnip + clovetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,233 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Leg of mutton: Provides the main meat, which becomes tender through long, slow braising.
Sherry: Adds acidity and aroma to the braising liquid, adding depth to the finished sauce.
Stock: Supplies the moist cooking liquid that gently tenderises the meat and becomes the base of the sauce.
Lardoons or fat bacon: Adds fat and savoury flavour inside the lean meat, keeping it moist as it cooks.
Garlic: Contributes aromatic pungency that mellows and sweetens during long simmering.

The step that matters

Simmer gently for about 4 hours. A gentle simmer keeps the liquid below a hard boil, so collagen in the tough cut breaks down slowly without the meat drying out or toughening. Frequent moistening keeps the surface from drying.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, ham, carrot, turnip, celery, clove, garlic):

Parsleyfits better
Winter savoryfits better
Marjoramfits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, ham, carrot, turnip, celery, clove, garlic. 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.

Braized Leg of Mutton, a LA Provencale