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 ↓
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
Cut the ribs of beef and set aside for stewing or braising.
Leave the other bones in the roast except at the end that joins the backbone.
Sear the cut sides of the roast in very hot drippings to retain the juices.
Place the roast on a meat rack in a dripping pan.
Dredge the roast with flour, coarse sea salt, and black pepper.
Place a piece of suet on top.
Roast
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) for the first 15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C).
Cook for about 1¼ hours.
Keep enough water in the pan to just cover the bottom.
Add boiling water as needed.
Baste frequently.
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 + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Beef + flourtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,677 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Beef and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 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
- First, second or third ribs of beef
- Forms the main body of the roast, providing the meat that is cooked and served.
- Flour
- Coats the outside of the roast, helping it form a browned crust during roasting.
- Suet
- Placed on top of the roast, it melts and bastes the meat with fat as it cooks.
- Boiling water
- Added to the pan to keep moisture around the roast and help prevent the drippings from scorching.
The step that matters
Searing the cut sides in very hot drippings. Searing at high heat browns the surface and forms a crust that helps seal in juices, as the record directs.
“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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