Why it works: Meat and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,364 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Shoulder, Roast
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a rather quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Roast
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Start with a slow fire to gradually heat the meat.
After some time, increase the heat for a brisk fire to thoroughly brown the meat.
Cook until the meat begins to pull away from the gristly part of the blade bone.
Pierce the skin in several places with a fork to allow fat to escape.
Serve
Serve hot with onion or oyster sauce.
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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Meat + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,364 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shoulder of meat
- Provides the main protein, which firms and browns as it cooks and becomes tender with slow heating.
The step that matters
Browning with a brisk fire. Raising the heat after the slow start browns the surface through the Maillard reaction, which builds flavor and color. Done too gently, the meat stays pale and bland.
“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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