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Beefsteak with Tomatoes

A steak served with a tomato and onion sauce made from stewed tomatoes in beef stock.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Beefsteak with Tomatoes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Pare and stew the tomatoes with the onion in the beef stock for 1 hour.

  2. Add the cracker, salt, and pepper to the sauce.

Cook and serve the steak

  1. Broil a nice steak carefully.

  2. Add butter, salt, and pepper to the steak.

  3. Place the steak in a hot, deep platter.

  4. Pour the boiling sauce over the steak and serve hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Tomato + beeftop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,448 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Tomatoes
Provide the main body, moisture, and acidity of the sauce as they stew down.
Beef stock
Adds savory meaty flavor and the liquid that cooks the tomatoes and onion.
Rolled cracker
Absorbs liquid and starch thickens the sauce so it clings to the steak.
Onion
Adds aroma and a mild sweetness as it softens in the stewing liquid.
Butter
Adds fat and richness, carrying flavor and a glossy finish on the steak.

The step that matters

Broiling the steak carefully. High direct heat browns the surface quickly, so the steak can scorch outside before the center reaches the desired doneness. Watching the time and distance from the flame lets the surface brown evenly while the inside cooks through gently.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, butter, pepper):

  1. Potatofits better
  2. Chivefits about as well
  3. Capsicumfits about as well
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, butter, pepper. 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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