Why it works: Lamb and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,165 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Lamb, Shoulder Of, Stuffed
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the meat
Remove the bones from the lamb.
Boil the bones for at least 1 hour to make stock.
Flatten the meat with a heavy knife.
Season the meat with salt and pepper.
Spread the veal forcemeat on top of the meat.
Roll the meat up lightly.
Tie the rolled meat securely with string.
Roast the meat
Place the tied meat in a baking dish with melted dripping.
Baste the meat well.
Cook the meat in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 1½ hours, basting frequently.
Make the sauce
Fry the butter and flour together in a separate pan until browned.
Add the prepared stock to the pan.
Stir the mixture until it boils.
Season the sauce to taste.
Finish and serve
Remove the meat from the dish.
Keep the meat warm.
Pour off the fat from the baking dish without disturbing the sediment.
Add the brown sauce to the dish.
Return the meat to the dish.
Cook gently for an additional 20 minutes, basting frequently.
Serve with some sauce poured over the meat.
Serve the remaining sauce in a tureen.
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.
-
Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Lamb + vealtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together568 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
-
Lamb + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,232 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb shoulder
- Forms the main body of the dish, and its meat becomes tender during long, slow roasting.
- Veal forcemeat
- Adds a moist, savoury filling that flavours the meat as it roasts inside the roll.
- Butter
- Fat that cooks with the flour to form a browned roux for the sauce.
- Flour
- Thickens the stock into a sauce once it is cooked with the butter.
- Stock
- Liquid base of the sauce, made from the lamb bones, adding savoury body.
- Dripping
- Fat in the baking dish that coats the meat, adding richness and helping it brown.
The step that matters
Stirring the roux and stock until boiling. Browning the butter and flour fully before adding stock builds colour and flavour, and stirring while the liquid comes to a boil keeps the flour smooth so the sauce thickens without lumps.
“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.
More stuffed lamb shoulder recipes
You might also like
Veal Patties50 recipes
Beef, Mutton, or Veal Broth6 recipes
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.