Why it works: Flour and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,459 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Beef Roasted in the Oven
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beef
Take at least 3 pounds of beef (ribs or sirloin) and place it in a baking pan.
Dust the beef with pepper.
Add 1 teaspoon salt to the pan with 1 cup water.
Place the pan in a very hot oven.
Roast
Baste the beef every 10 minutes.
Turn the beef several times.
Cook for 15 minutes per pound.
Remove the beef onto a hot platter.
Garnish with hot boiled rice or potatoes roasted in the pan, or Yorkshire pudding.
Make the gravy
Pour the liquid out of the pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons.
Add 1 tablespoon flour to the pan and mix until smooth.
Add 1 cup hot water and stir until it boils.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the gravy in a gravy boat.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 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 |
| 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.
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef (in the method)
- Is the main cut that gives the dish its meaty flavour and substance.
- Flour
- Thickens the pan liquid into a smooth gravy as it cooks.
- Water
- Forms the cooking liquid that collects meat juices for the gravy.
The step that matters
Basting and turning the beef in the very hot oven. Regular basting keeps the surface moist and helps even browning, while turning heats the meat evenly. Skipping these can leave dry or unevenly cooked beef.
“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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