Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Roast Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare and roast
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Season the beef roast with salt and pepper, then dust it with flour.
Place the roast in a dripping pan with enough water to cover the bottom.
Turn the pan often to ensure even roasting and baste frequently.
Cook the roast until the outside is browned and juices are retained.
Serve the roast rare on the first day; the outer parts will be well cooked.
Make leftovers
For leftovers, slice the meat thinly, dip in flour, and layer in a baking dish.
Sprinkle with chopped onions, salt, and pepper, then add layers of tomatoes.
Moisten with gravy and top with more tomatoes.
Fill with boiling water, cover with a plate, and bake for 2 hours.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,448 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 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
- Beef roast
- Provides the main meat, whose juices are kept in by browning and basting.
- Flour
- Dusting helps form a light coating that encourages browning on the surface.
- Onions
- Adds savory flavor and aroma to the leftover layers as they soften during baking.
- Tomatoes
- Adds acidity and moisture to the layered leftover dish.
- Gravy
- Moistens the layers so the sliced meat stays tender while baking.
The step that matters
Turning and basting the roast. Turning the pan often and basting help the roast brown evenly and keep its juices in, so the meat does not dry out on the surface while the interior cooks.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, flour, pepper, tomato):
- Capsicumfits better
- Okrafits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, flour, pepper, tomato. 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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