Why it works: Ketchup and sauce match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,099 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the steak
Cut round steak into serving pieces.
Dip meat into flour; brown in hot skillet with a small amount of oil.
Remove from pan and set aside.
Make the sauce
Add remaining ingredients to pan, bring to a boil, scraping the pan and stirring.
Return steak to pan (or place in a deep casserole and pour juices over).
Bake
Bake at 350°F for 50–60 minutes, or until tender.
Check on meat from time to time – add a little water in small amounts while baking to prevent the meat from burning or drying out, and to prevent the sauce from becoming too thick.
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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Ketchup + saucetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,099 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Oregano + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together166 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Tarragon + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together130 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Tarragon + vinegartop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Tarragon + oreganotop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together39 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Round steak
- Browned and then slowly baked until tender, it forms the main body of the dish.
- Flour
- Coats the meat so it browns well and helps thicken the sauce.
- Beef bouillon
- Provides the savory liquid base that the meat cooks in.
- Ketchup
- Adds sweetness, acidity and body to the sauce.
- Tarragon vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens and balances the rich sauce.
The step that matters
Checking and adding water during baking. Long baking can dry the meat and reduce the sauce too far, causing it to scorch or thicken excessively. Adding small amounts of liquid keeps the meat moist and the sauce at the right consistency.
Flavor stand-ins for the oregano
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, beef, ketchup, tarragon, vinegar, sauce, marjoram):
- Thymebetter flavor fit
- Parsleybetter flavor fit
- Celerybetter flavor fit
- Oreganothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, beef, ketchup, tarragon, vinegar, sauce, marjoram. 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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