Why it works: Mutton and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,442 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Beefsteak and Mutton Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the meat
Broil the tender cuts of beefsteak over a clear, hot fire until rare.
Cook the mutton chops until well done.
Season and serve
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Place the steak and chops between two hot plates for three minutes before serving.
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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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beefsteak
- Main meat; high heat from broiling browns its surface while the inside stays rare.
- Mutton chops
- Main meat; cooking it well done firms its fibres and reduces juiciness.
The step that matters
Broiling the beefsteak until rare. Broiling over a clear, hot fire browns the outside quickly, so the steak can overcook inside before the surface is done. Watching the interior closely keeps it rare while the surface still develops rich, savoury flavour.
“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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