Why it works: Butter and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 85,593 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Steak, Sirloin
Ingredients
Directions
Cook
Preheat the broiler.
Cook the steak for about 8 minutes for medium doneness.
Remove the steak from the broiler.
Finish
Brush melted butter over the steak.
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
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.
-
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
- Sirloin steak
- The main protein, which firms and browns on the surface as it cooks under the broiler.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and helps the outside of the steak brown and taste savoury.
The step that matters
Cook the steak for about 8 minutes for medium doneness. Doneness depends on the steak's internal temperature, not only time. Thickness and broiler heat change how fast it cooks, so the 8 minutes is only a guide and the steak should be checked before removing it.
“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.
More sirloin steak recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.