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Swiss Steak

A beef steak coated in flour, browned, then simmered with onions and optional mushrooms.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Pork and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,875 recipes. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-propylphenol, which smells allspice, anise. The science ↓

Swiss Steak

Ingredients

Directions

Sear the steak

  1. Pound flour onto both sides of the steak.

  2. Brown the steak in bacon or salt pork fat on both sides.

Simmer and finish

  1. Cover the steak with boiling water and let it simmer for about 2 hours.

  2. Cook the peeled onions in boiling water for 5 minutes.

  3. Drain and rinse the onions in cold water, then set them around the meat.

  4. Add mushrooms if desired, and season with salt and pepper.

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. Pork + mushroomtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,875 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-propylphenol (allspice, anise).

  2. Onion + mushroomtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,626 recipes

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

  3. Pork + oniontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,214 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Pepper + mushroomtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,580 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Round steak
Tough cut that becomes tender through long, moist simmering.
Flour
Coats the steak so it browns well and thickens the cooking liquid.
Onions
Add sweetness and aroma as they soften in the braising liquid.
Mushrooms
Add earthy flavor and moisture to the finished dish.

The step that matters

Browning the steak. Searing the floured steak in hot fat builds deep flavor through the Maillard reaction. Pale, crowded browning produces a flatter, less savory sauce, so brown it in batches on both sides.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, pork, pepper, mushroom):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, pork, pepper, mushroom. 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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