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Cold Meat and Potato, Baked

A baked casserole of cold meat and mashed potatoes, simmered in a butter‑onion‑flour sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Cold Meat and Potato, Baked

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

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

Make the filling

  1. In a frying pan, melt the cold butter over medium heat.

  2. Stir in the chopped onion and flour, mixing constantly until smooth and frothy.

  3. Add the cold milk or water, seasoning with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.

  4. Stir in the finely chopped cold meat and heat thoroughly.

Assemble and bake

  1. Transfer the mixture to a well-buttered shallow dish.

  2. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top.

  3. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15 to 20 minutes.

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. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

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

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

  3. Pepper + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  4. Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,611 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

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

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

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 to the roux and carries flavor into the filling.
Flour
Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce that holds the meat together.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the sauce, adding moisture and creaminess.
Cold meat
Provides the main protein and savory flavor of the casserole.
Mashed potatoes
Forms a starchy topping that bakes to a golden, tender crust.

The step that matters

Stirring the flour into the butter and onion. Cooking the flour in fat until smooth and frothy coats the starch granules so they disperse evenly. Stirring constantly prevents lumps and scorching, which would leave the sauce grainy or burnt-tasting.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, pepper, meat, potato):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Asparagusfits better
  3. Chivefits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, pepper, meat, potato. 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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