Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓
Braised Fillets of Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cut the fillet of beef into 7 to 9 slices, each the size of a breakfast cup and ⅓ inch thick.
Cut the bacon into strips ⅛ inch thick and 1 inch long.
Use a clean cloth to pat each fillet dry.
Lard the fillets with the bacon strips using a larding needle.
Braise and brown
Arrange the larded fillets in a sauté pan.
Add the bouquet garni and the cleaned vegetables (carrots, onion, celery) to the pan.
Pour in enough stock to cover the bottom of the pan without submerging the fillets.
Baste the fillets continually.
Cut a piece of buttered paper to fit the sauté pan and place it over the fillets when the stock boils to prevent over-browning.
Remove the paper and baste frequently, replacing it each time.
Place the sauté pan in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes to brown the meat.
Finish the sauce
Remove the meat and reduce the stock.
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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Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,225 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
-
Parsley + thymetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,057 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Parsley + marjoramtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,979 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,173 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef fillet
- Forms the main body of the dish; slow cooking in liquid keeps the meat tender.
- Bacon
- Larded strips add fat and savoury flavour that melt into the lean beef as it cooks.
- Stock
- Braising liquid that gently cooks the meat and becomes the base for the reduced sauce.
- Carrots
- Add sweetness and aromatic flavour to the braising liquid.
- Onion
- Adds savoury depth and aroma to the braising liquid as it softens.
The step that matters
Covering with buttered paper once the stock boils. The paper shields the fillets from direct heat so they brown evenly without over-browning or drying out, while the stock keeps them moist.
Swap the parsley
The recipe marks parsley as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, carrot, celery, onion, thyme, marjoram, shallot):
- Winter savoryfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
- Tarragonfits less well
- Rosemaryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, carrot, celery, onion, thyme, marjoram, shallot. 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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