Why it works: Lamb and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,402 recipes. Both carry acetaldehyde, which smells pungent, ethereal. The science ↓
Hind Quarter of Lamb
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Place the hind quarter of lamb in the oven.
Roast
Roast for 2 hours and 15 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Baste the lamb frequently while roasting.
Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and dredge with flour 30 minutes before it's done.
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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Lamb + flourtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,402 recipes
Shared aroma: acetaldehyde (pungent, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb hind quarter
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender and juicy during long, slow roasting.
- Flour
- Dusted over the surface near the end, it helps form a browned, slightly crisp crust.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the surface of the meat and helps draw out moisture for a more flavorful crust.
The step that matters
Dredging with flour 30 minutes before the end. Flour needs time in the oven's dry heat to brown and set into a crust. Adding it too early can burn, while adding it too late leaves it pale and pasty.
“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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