Why it works: Bread and pork are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,371 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
A Rolled, Stuffed Steak
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the steak
Score the steak.
Brush it with oil and vinegar.
Cover the steak with well-seasoned bread crumbs.
Roll the steak into a loaf shape.
Season and bake
Dust the loaf with coarse sea salt, pepper, and flour.
Place thin slices of suet and strips of fat salt pork on top.
Put the loaf in a covered baking pan.
Add 1 cup of hot water.
Cook in a moderately slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until tender.
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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Bread + porktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,371 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Vinegar + peppertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,814 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Pepper + porktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,964 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Vinegar + porktop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,563 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Steak
- Forms the main body of the dish and becomes tender with slow, moist cooking.
- Suet
- Melts during baking, adding fat that keeps the lean steak moist and rich.
- Fat salt pork
- Renders fat over the loaf, adding richness and savory flavor as it bakes.
- Bread crumbs
- Wrap the steak and absorb rendered juices, helping hold the roll together.
- Flour
- Dusted on the loaf, it helps the outside brown and thicken the pan juices.
The step that matters
Cook in a covered pan at low heat until tender. Lean round steak toughens if cooked fast or dry. A moderately slow oven with the lid on and added water lets connective tissue break down gently while the meat stays moist.
“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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