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Barbacued Mutton

Barbecued mutton prepared by slow broiling and basting with a vinegar and pepper dressing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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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 ↓

Barbacued Mutton

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the meat across three or four times to break the bones for easy carving.

  2. Place the meat in a flat pan or on a broiler in front of the fire.

Make the dressing

  1. In a separate pot, combine vinegar, red pepper, black pepper, salt, and butter. Keep the mixture hot.

Cook and serve

  1. Broil the meat slowly.

  2. Use a soft cloth to mop the meat with the dressing while it cooks.

  3. Once cooked, pour the remaining dressing over the meat and serve hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,165 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  2. Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Lamb + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Vinegar + buttertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,513 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

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

What each ingredient does

Lamb or mutton
Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender and juicy as it cooks slowly.
Vinegar
Adds sharp acidity that brightens the rich meat and balances its fat.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the dressing, helping carry flavour onto the meat.
Red pepper
Provides heat and aroma that flavour the dressing and the surface of the meat.

The step that matters

Mopping the meat while it broils. Basting keeps the surface moist and stops it drying out over slow heat. Keeping the dressing hot ensures it stays fluid and spreads evenly, adding flavour as the meat cooks.

“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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