Why it works: Mutton and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,781 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Place the mutton in a baking pan and spread a little melted butter over it.
Cover the bottom of the pan with cold water.
Roast the mutton near the fire, basting it frequently with the drippings until a crust forms.
Once the crust is formed, continue to baste until the meat is cooked to your preference.
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 + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,781 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
- Mutton
- Is the main meat that is roasted until cooked through and browned on the outside.
- Melted butter
- Coats the surface of the meat to add richness and help it brown.
- Cold water
- Sits in the pan to add moisture to the drippings used for basting.
The step that matters
Basting until the crust forms. Spooning drippings over the meat keeps its surface moist while the crust sets and browns. Basting too little can leave the outside dry and pale.
“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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