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 ↓
Beef Steak and Mutton Chops
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Choose the tenderest cuts of beef steak and mutton chops.
Broil over a clear, hot fire until the steak is rare and the chops are well done.
Season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Place the meat between two hot plates for three minutes.
Serve
Serve immediately, allowing the patient to chew the meat well and swallow only the juice if they are weak.
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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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Beef + muttontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,373 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Mutton + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,442 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
- Beef steak
- Browns on the surface under high heat while the inside cooks to the chosen doneness.
- Mutton chops
- Browns on the surface under high heat while the inside cooks to the chosen doneness.
The step that matters
Broil over a clear, hot fire until the steak is rare and the chops are well done.. High direct heat browns the surface quickly, so the two cuts must be pulled at different moments. Removing the meat at the right time keeps the steak's interior rare and the chops' interior fully cooked.
“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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