Why it works: Butter and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Roast Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare and roast
Wipe the roast thoroughly with a wet clean towel.
Place it in a dripping pan and baste with butter or suet fat.
Set the roast in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).
Baste frequently with its own drippings.
When partly done, season with salt and pepper.
Dredge with sifted flour for a frothy appearance.
Roast for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, leaving the inside a little rare.
Make the gravy and serve
Remove the meat to a hot dish and keep warm.
Skim the fat from the drippings, add 1 tablespoon flour, a little pepper, and 1 teacup boiling water.
Boil once and serve in a hot gravy boat.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter and flour 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
- Rib piece or loin roast
- Is the main cut of meat that provides the body of the dish.
- Butter or suet fat
- Adds fat that coats the surface, helping it brown and keeping it moist.
- Sifted flour
- Dredged over the roast to form a light, frothy crust that helps browning.
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Thickens the drippings into gravy when blended with the fat and boiling water.
The step that matters
Roasting to a little rare. Meat keeps cooking after it leaves the oven and its juices tighten as it gets hotter, so pulling it at the right point keeps the inside tender and juicy rather than dry.
“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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