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 ↓
Hashed Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Slice the cold roast beef and remove the skin and gristle.
Make the sauce
In a stewpan, melt the butter and add the chopped onion and flour.
Cook over medium heat, stirring until browned but not burned.
Gradually stir in the stock and a little salt, then bring to a boil until thickened.
Finish and serve
Add the chopped pickles and slices of beef, heating through.
Serve with slices of toast.
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 + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + oniontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Cold roast beef
- Provides the main meat, which is simply heated through in the sauce.
- Butter
- Carries the onion and flour and adds richness to the base.
- Onion
- Adds savory sweetness and aroma as it softens and browns.
- Flour
- Thickens the stock into a smooth sauce when cooked with the fat.
- Stock
- Forms the liquid of the hash, which thickens as it boils.
- Hot green pickles
- Add sharp acidity and a spicy bite that cuts through the rich sauce.
The step that matters
Cooking the onion and flour until browned but not burned. Browning the flour in butter builds nutty flavor and gives the roux thickening power, while scorching produces bitter, acrid taste that spoils the sauce.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, butter, flour):
- Chivefits about as well
- Leekfits about as well
- Potatofits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, butter, flour. 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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