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Leg of Mutton, Boned and Stuffed

A boned leg of mutton stuffed with a savory mixture of ham, breadcrumbs, suet, shallots, herbs, and spices, then roasted.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,037 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Leg of Mutton, Boned and Stuffed

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the stuffing

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Mix the dry ingredients: ham or bacon, breadcrumbs, suet, shallots, parsley, lemon rind, mixed herbs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

  3. Moisten the mixture with the egg and enough milk to bind it together.

  4. Press the mixture into the cavity of the leg of mutton and secure the opening.

Roast and serve

  1. Roast the leg of mutton for about 2½ hours.

  2. Serve with brown sauce or gravy.

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. Parsley + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Shallot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,737 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Parsley + nutmegtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,062 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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 meat that is cooked and sliced, carrying the stuffing as it roasts.
Breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture and bind with the egg, giving the stuffing a soft, cohesive texture.
Egg
Binds the stuffing together so it holds its shape inside the meat.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the stuffing moist and rich as it cooks.
Ham or bacon
Adds salty, savoury flavour and fat to the stuffing.

The step that matters

Binding the stuffing with egg and milk. Too little liquid leaves the stuffing dry and crumbly, while too much makes it soggy and loose. Enough milk lets the breadcrumbs soften and the egg set the mixture so it holds together during roasting.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mutton, ham, shallot, parsley, lemon, pepper, egg):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Capersfits better
  3. Tarragonfits better
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against mutton, ham, shallot, parsley, lemon, pepper, egg. 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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