Name: Steaks Continental
Ingredients: 1 pound lean ground beef; 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage; 1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs; 1 cup finely chopped onion; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 eggs; 1 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes, chopped; 1/2 cup gingersnap crumbs; 1 teaspoon curry powder; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 2 eggs, beaten; 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese; 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese; 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, divided

Why it works: Beef and pork match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,690 recipes. Both carry 12-methyltridecanal, which smells tallowy, beefy. The science ↓

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.

Beef + porktop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,690 recipes

Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,448 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together20,633 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

Lean ground beef: Provides the main meaty body and structure of the patties.
Bulk pork sausage: Adds fat and seasoning, keeping the patties moist and flavorful during cooking.
Soft bread crumbs: Absorb moisture and help bind the meat mixture so patties hold together.
Eggs: Bind the mixture together and help the patties hold their shape.
Peeled whole tomatoes: Add acidity and liquid that form the sauce as the patties simmer.

The step that matters

Pour off excess fat. Sausage and beef release fat as they brown. Leaving too much in the skillet makes the sauce greasy and can prevent the patties from browning well.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pork, bread, pepper, egg, tomato, cottage cheese):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Spinachfits about as well
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pork, bread, pepper, egg, tomato, cottage cheese. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Parmesan Cheese	1 oz (28g)	110
Cottage Cheese	1/2 cup (113g) 2%	98
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6

Steaks Continental