Why it works: Beef and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Beefsteak
Ingredients
Directions
Choose the tenderest part of beef, about 1 inch thick.
Broil the beef over good coals, covered with a plate.
In a dish, mix butter, salt, pepper, and a little water.
When turning the beef, dip it in the mixture, ensuring to keep as much juice as possible.
When done, place the beef in a warm dish and pour the basting over it.
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.
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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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Provides the main meat; a tender cut stays juicy when cooked quickly over coals.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness to the basting, carrying flavor and moisture onto the meat.
The step that matters
Turning and basting the beef. Juices that drip away are lost and the surface can dry out. Dipping the meat in the butter mixture each time it turns adds fat and moisture, keeping the steak juicy.
“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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