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Smothered Beefsteak

A rolled beefsteak coated in breadcrumbs and herbs, browned and stewed in salt pork fat with water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Sage and summer savory match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 237 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Smothered Beefsteak

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the roll

  1. Lay the meat out smoothly and wipe it dry.

  2. In a bowl, mix the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, butter, sage, summer savory, and enough milk to form a stiff mixture.

  3. Spread the mixture over the meat, roll it up carefully, and tie it with string, securing the ends well.

  4. If desired, add a finely chopped slice of onion to the dressing before rolling.

Brown and stew

  1. Fry the salt pork in a kettle or saucepan until crispy.

  2. Place the beef roll in the rendered fat and brown it on all sides.

  3. Add the water and stew until the meat is tender.

Gravy and serving

  1. Once cooked, remove the meat, thicken the gravy, and pour it over the beef.

  2. Carve the beef crosswise into slices, cutting through the beef and stuffing.

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. Sage + summer savorytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together237 recipes

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

  2. Pepper + sagetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,388 recipes

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

  3. Pepper + summer savorytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together671 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Bread + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,232 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef steak
Forms the wrapped outer layer that becomes tender through slow stewing.
Bread crumbs
Absorb moisture from the milk to form a stuffing that holds its shape when rolled.
Butter
Adds fat and richness to the stuffing, helping it taste moist and savory.
Salt pork
Renders fat for browning the beef roll and adds savory, salty flavor.
Dried sage
Contributes earthy, aromatic flavor to the stuffing.

The step that matters

Browning the beef roll in the rendered fat. Searing the outside over fairly high heat builds browned flavor through the Maillard reaction. Pale, under-browned meat tastes flat, and the gravy made from the pan will lack depth.

Swap the summer savory

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (bread, pepper, butter, sage, milk, pork):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Marjoramfits about as well
  3. Summer savorythe original
  4. Parsleyfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against bread, pepper, butter, sage, milk, pork. 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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