Name: Beef or Rump Steak
Ingredients: 1 beef rump steak, 1.5 inches thick; Oil; Coarse sea salt; Pepper

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 or Rump Steak

Ingredients

1 beef rump steak, 1.5 inches thick
Oil
Coarse sea salt
Pepper

Directions

Prepare

Slightly flatten the steak with a moistened chopper to prevent sticking.
Trim the steak into an oval shape and oil both surfaces.
Sprinkle the steak with a little pepper and coarse sea salt.

Cook

Broil the steak over a clear fire, with the gridiron inclined towards you.
Use tongs to turn the steak; do not use a fork.

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.

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

Beef rump steak: Main protein; its thickness and fat determine the texture and juiciness of the finished meat.
Oil: Coats the surface so the steak browns evenly and does not stick to the grill.