Why it works: Pepper and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Beef-steak Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Cut the steak into pieces about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide, ensuring each piece has a bit of fat.
Layer the meat in a pie dish.
Sprinkle salt, black pepper, and cayenne between each layer.
Fill the dish with meat to support the crust and create a raised appearance.
Pour in enough water to fill the dish halfway.
Assemble and bake
Border the dish with pie crust.
Brush the crust with water.
Cover with another layer of crust.
Press down the edges with your thumb.
Trim the crust close to the dish.
Decorate the pie with shapes cut from the crust.
Brush the pie with beaten egg yolk.
Make a hole in the top.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 1 hour.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rump steak
- Provides the meat that becomes tender and flavorful during the long oven bake.
- Pie crust
- Forms a sealed pastry shell that holds in the filling and browns in the oven.
- Egg yolk
- Brushed on top, it promotes a glossy, golden browned crust.
- Water
- Poured into the dish to create moisture and gravy-like juices around the meat.
The step that matters
Make a hole in the top. Without a vent, steam from the water and meat cannot escape, building pressure that can lift or split the crust.
“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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