Why it works: Beef and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,052 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓
Cdhned Beef Hash
Ingredients
Directions
Make the hash
In an iron frying pan, combine the butter, chopped beef, chopped potatoes, water, and pepper.
Stir gently to mix, being careful not to break the potato pieces.
Cover the pan and heat until thoroughly warmed.
Brown and serve
Remove the cover and move the hash to one side of the pan, keeping it on the hottest part of the stove.
Allow it to brown, then slide a knife under it.
Place a platter on the pan and carefully turn it upside down to serve.
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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Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,052 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + potatotop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + beeftop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the hash brown on the pan surface.
- Beef
- Provides the main protein and savory meaty flavor of the hash.
- Potatoes
- Form the bulk of the hash, adding starchy body and texture.
The step that matters
Browning the hash without breaking it. Stirring too much breaks the potato pieces and releases starch, making the hash mushy. Letting it sit undisturbed on the hot part of the pan lets a crust form, which gives browned flavor and a firmer texture.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, beef, pepper):
- Potatothe original
- Onionfits about as well
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Tomatofits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, beef, pepper. 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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