Why it works: Beef and tarragon work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 217 recipes mention both. Both carry anethole, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Brown the beef
Brown meat and garlic in butter in large skillet.
Add 1/2 cup wine, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until meat is tender.
Make the sauce
Add tomatoes, green onions, 1 teaspoon tarragon and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook 3 minutes longer.
In a small saucepan, blend cornstarch, broth, pepper, remaining 1/2 cup wine, remaining 1 teaspoon tarragon and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes.
Stir into beef.
Serve
Serve over rice.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Beef + tarragontop 7% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together217 recipes
Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
-
Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Garlic + tomatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together14,075 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Beef + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,091 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Red wine + tomatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef round steak
- Becomes tender during long, covered simmering, giving the dish its main substance.
- Red wine
- Adds acidity and depth to the braising liquid as it simmers with the meat.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the broth into a glossy sauce when heated to a boil.
- Butter or margarine
- Carries the browning of the meat and garlic, building savory flavor in the skillet.
- Tomatoes
- Add moisture and a bright, slightly acidic note to the sauce.
- Tarragon leaves
- Contribute the herbal, anise-like aroma that defines the dish.
The step that matters
Simmering the beef until tender. Round steak is a lean, tough cut. Slow, covered simmering breaks down its connective tissue, so cooking too briefly leaves the meat chewy. Keep the liquid at a gentle simmer so it does not dry out.
Flavor stand-ins for the garlic
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, butter, red wine, tomato, onion, tarragon, pepper):
- Thymebetter flavor fit
- Celeryabout as good a flavor fit
- Parsleyabout as good a flavor fit
- Garlicthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, butter, red wine, tomato, onion, tarragon, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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