Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Braised Leg of Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Remove the bone from the leg of mutton and stuff if desired.
Line the bottom of a thick iron kettle or stew-pan with four slices of bacon.
Add the chopped carrots, onions, and savory herbs on top of the bacon.
Place the leg of mutton over the vegetables and cover with four more slices of bacon.
Pour in one-half pint of water and cover tightly.
Stew and season
Stew gently for four hours, basting occasionally with its own juices.
Season with salt and pepper when the meat begins to tenderize.
Make the gravy and serve
Strain the gravy and thicken it with one tablespoon of flour until brown.
Pour some gravy over the meat and serve the rest in a tureen.
Garnish the dish with fried potatoes shaped like olives.
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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Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,023 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + potatotop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,107 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
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Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,555 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,458 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Leg of mutton
- Forms the main cut of meat that becomes tender and rich through long, slow stewing.
- Bacon
- Lines the pot and renders fat that adds savory flavour and moisture to the meat and gravy.
- Carrots
- Release sweetness and moisture into the braising liquid, adding body to the gravy.
- Onions
- Break down during stewing to add savory depth and sweetness to the gravy.
- Flour
- Thickens the strained gravy and helps it brown and hold together.
The step that matters
Keep the pot covered and stew gently. Gentle, sealed heat lets the connective tissue in the mutton break down slowly into tender meat. Boiling hard or lifting the lid lets moisture escape and can leave the meat dry and tough.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, carrot, pepper, flour, potato, olive, butter):
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits about as well
- Tomatofits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, carrot, pepper, flour, potato, olive, butter. 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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