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 ↓
Hamburg Roast
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Take 2 pounds raw beefsteak chopped fine, 2 medium sized onions also chopped fine, 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 6 rolled crackers, 1 heaping teaspoon butter, salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well, make into a roll, and dust with flour.
Bake and make gravy
Put in a pan in the oven with just enough water in the pan to baste it well while cooking.
Bake about 45 minutes.
Make a gravy with the juice in the pan, 2 tablespoons flour, a piece of butter, and season it with celery salt, salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| 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.
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Tea + peppertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together260 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Flour + oniontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Beefsteak
- Provides the main body and meaty flavour of the roll.
- Onions
- Add moisture and sweetness as they soften during baking.
- Rolled crackers
- Bind the meat and absorb juices so the roll holds its shape.
- Flour
- Dusted on the roll for light browning and thickens the pan juices into gravy.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that keeps the roll moist and flavourful.
The step that matters
Adding water to the pan. Enough water keeps the roll basted and moist during baking. Too little lets the meat dry out and leaves too few pan juices to make the gravy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, tea, pepper):
- Potatofits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, tea, pepper. 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.
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