Why it works: Pepper and mint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,372 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Beoiled Lamb Oe Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut slices from the hind-quarter, about 4 fingers in size and 1.5 inches thick.
Cut slits in the meat and pound it gently.
Season with salt, pepper, and onion juice.
Sprinkle powdered mint into the slits.
Broil and serve
Place on a buttered grill and broil over a clear fire, turning often until cooked through.
Serve very hot.
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 + minttop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,372 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Lamb + peppertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,165 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lamb + minttop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together772 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lamb or mutton
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooking to a tender, browned meat when broiled.
- Onion juice
- Adds savory onion flavor that penetrates the meat when seasoned before cooking.
- Powdered mint
- Adds a fresh, aromatic herb flavor that is released into the meat in the slits.
The step that matters
Turning often under the broil. Frequent turning over a clear fire lets the heat cook the thick slices evenly through without scorching the outside before the centre is done.
Swap the mint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lamb, pepper, onion, butter):
- Garlicfits better
- Parsleyfits better
- Thymefits better
- Mintthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lamb, pepper, onion, 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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