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Hamburger Pie

A pie of seasoned ground beef topped with mashed potatoes.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Hamburger Pie

Oven425 °F
Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the meat base

  1. Combine ground beef, cornflakes, garlic powder, onion, and egg; mix well, then add salt and pepper.

  2. Place beef mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and pat it to cover the bottom and sides evenly.

Bake the base

  1. Heat water, skim milk, and salt just to a boil; remove from heat.

  2. Bake at 425 °F for 30 minutes; drain off excess fat.

Make and add the potato topping

  1. Heat water, skim milk, and salt just to a boil; remove from heat.

  2. Add instant potato granules; mix thoroughly.

  3. Add margarine; blend well.

  4. Cover and allow to stand 5 minutes, or until potatoes thicken.

  5. Spread the potato mixture evenly over the meat mixture.

  6. Return to oven and bake until potatoes are golden brown.

  7. Allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting the pie into wedges.

Microwave version

  1. Microwave: cover the beef mixture.

  2. Cook on medium for 10 to 12 minutes; drain.

  3. Cover with potatoes.

  4. Cook on medium for 2 minutes.

  5. Hold for 5 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

633Calories
42 gProtein
40 gFat
25 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

  3. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

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

  4. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

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

  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

Ground beef
Forms the savory base layer and sets firm as its proteins cook.
Egg
Binds the meat mixture so it holds its shape when sliced.
Cornflakes
Crushed crumbs absorb juices and help the meat layer hold together.
Instant potato
Absorbs the hot liquid and thickens into a soft, spreadable topping.
Skim milk
Adds moisture and mild richness to the potato topping.
Margarine
Adds fat for richer flavor and helps the potato top brown.

The step that matters

Drain off excess fat after the first bake. Fat from the beef pools in the pan during baking. Leftover fat makes the base greasy and soft, and it can loosen the potato topping.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, egg, pepper, milk):

  1. Parsleyfits about as well
  2. Garlicthe original
  3. Celeryfits about as well
  4. Thymefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, egg, pepper, milk. 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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