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To Broil Beef-steak

A simple broiled beef steak seasoned with pepper, butter, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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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 ↓

To Broil Beef-steak

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the steak into slices ¾ to 1 inch thick.

  2. Dust the steak with pepper if desired.

Cook and serve

  1. Place the steak on a hot grill and turn frequently.

  2. Cook to your preferred doneness, adjusting time based on thickness and fire strength.

  3. Once cooked, place the steak on a hot dish.

  4. Rub the steak with a little butter and sprinkle with salt.

  5. Serve immediately to enjoy the best flavor.

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 + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

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

  2. Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,847 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  3. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 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
Main protein; its thickness and fat content determine how it cooks and stays juicy.
Good fresh butter
Adds fat and richness to the hot steak, carrying flavor across the surface.
Fine salt
Seasons the surface of the meat and brings out its natural beefy flavor.

The step that matters

Cook to your preferred doneness, adjusting time based on thickness and fire strength.. Meat keeps cooking after it leaves the heat, and thickness and fire strength change how fast the inside reaches temperature. Checking doneness by feel or thermometer, rather than by the clock alone, prevents overcooking and a dry, tough steak.

“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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