Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Beefsteak Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the filling
Get 2 pounds good steak, cut into pieces about 3 inches square, slice 1 onion with it, add pepper and salt, and water enough to stew it, cover and bake from 1 to 2 hours.
Make and bake the crust
Make a good pie crust with either lard or suet finely minced, take the pie out, edge the pan with a narrow strip of paste, wet the edge with cold water, and put on a top cover, pressing down the edge tight.
Make a good hole in the centre, and bake till the crust is done.
If the water has boiled off when the crust is put on, add a little boiling water.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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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Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 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
- Steak
- Provides the meat that becomes tender and rich as it stews slowly in liquid.
- Onion
- Adds aroma and savory sweetness to the stewed filling.
- Lard or suet (in the method)
- Makes the pie crust short and flaky by coating flour and keeping layers tender.
The step that matters
Keep enough liquid in the filling before the crust goes on. Stewing needs water to keep the meat moist and tender. If the liquid has boiled away, the meat can dry out and toughen, so adding a little boiling water restores moisture without cooling the filling.
“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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