Why it works: Pepper and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,800 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
To Roast a Haunch of Venison
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the venison
Wipe the venison with soft, dry cloths to remove moisture.
Dust the surface with freshly-ground pepper or powdered ginger to deter flies.
Wash the venison lightly with tepid water.
Wipe the venison with damp cloths. Dry the venison with clean cloths.
Paste and wrap
Cover the fat side with a large sheet of thickly-buttered paper.
Make a paste of flour and water about ¾ inch thick and spread the paste over the paper.
Cover with two or three sheets of stout paper and secure the paper with twine.
Roast and brown
Place the haunch over a clear fire.
Baste the paper with butter or clarified dripping.
Roast for 3.5 to 4.5 hours, depending on weight and quality; doe venison requires 30 minutes less.
Twenty minutes before done, remove the paste and paper.
Baste the meat with butter.
Lightly dredge the meat with flour.
Allow the meat to brown lightly.
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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Pepper + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,800 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Ginger + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,564 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Venison + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together957 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Pepper + flourtop 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
- Venison
- Forms the main body of the dish, and its long roasting turns the connective tissue tender.
- Butter
- Adds moisture and fat, and helps the surface brown during basting.
- Flour
- Forms a protective paste that shields the meat, and a light dusting helps browning at the end.
The step that matters
Remove the paste and paper twenty minutes before done. Removing the protective paste late lets the surface dry and brown; removing it too early leaves the meat exposed and drier during the long roast.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (venison, pepper, butter, flour):
- Parsleyfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Sagefits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against venison, pepper, butter, flour. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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