Why it works: Sauce and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,078 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
To Roast Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Sear and season
Put the meat in a preheated hot pan on the stove and sear on all sides, turning with a fork.
Place the meat on a rack in the pan, sprinkle flour, then salt and pepper.
Add two tablespoonfuls of drippings to the pan if available, no water.
Roast
Cook in a very hot oven for ten minutes, then reduce heat, basting often with the fat in the pan.
Roast ten minutes per pound for rare, fifteen minutes per pound for well done.
For a rolled roast, cook a little longer.
After roasting, place on a platter with the fat side up and carve thin slices across the grain.
Make the gravy
Pour the fat from the pan into a bowl, then pour about a pint of hot water or stock into the pan to collect settling.
In a sauce pan, add four tablespoonfuls of hot fat, stir in two tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well, then stir in the hot water or stock from the pan.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup or mushrooms.
Cook the gravy for ten minutes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 6 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Dripping | not in our table | 0 |
| Sauce | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Sauce + flourtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,078 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sauce + peppertop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,303 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sauce and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,303 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
- Beef (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the dish, cooked to the chosen doneness.
- Flour
- Thickens the gravy by binding with the hot fat and liquid.
- Drippings
- Add roasted meat flavour and fat for basting and the gravy.
The step that matters
Basting in a very hot oven, then reducing heat. Searing the surface in a very hot oven browns it, and basting keeps the outside moist while the interior cooks. Too little basting can leave the meat dry.
“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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