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Lamb’s Head

A boiled lamb head served with a minced liver and lung mixture, seasoned and thickened with floured butter.

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 ↓

Lamb’s Head

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Soak the lamb's head in cold water.

Cook

  1. Boil the head separately until very tender.

  2. Parboil the liver and lungs, then mince them small.

  3. Stir the minced liver and lungs into a little of the boiling water.

  4. Add seasoning to taste and thicken with floured butter.

Serve

  1. Serve the lamb's head with the minced mixture around it.

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. Lamb + livertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together145 recipes

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

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

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Liver + buttertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Liver + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,375 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Lamb's head
Forms the main body of the dish and becomes tender through long boiling.
Lamb's liver
Adds richness and depth of flavour to the minced mixture.
Lamb's lights (lungs)
Adds bulk to the minced mixture, giving it a soft, light body.
Floured butter
Thickens the liquid into a smooth, lightly rich broth.

The step that matters

Thicken with floured butter. Flour must be cooked into the butter and liquid, or it stays raw and gritty. Adding it to boiling liquid in small amounts while stirring prevents 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.

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