Why it works: Carrot and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21,601 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Fillet of Beef with Madeira
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut away all fibers and skins from the fillet and lard it evenly.
Line a stewpan with sliced carrots, onions, and herbs.
Strew lard over the vegetables and place the rolled fillet on top.
Braise
Pour Madeira and stock over the fillet, then add a little salt.
Cover with buttered paper and cook over a very slow fire with embers on the lid.
When nearly cooked, strain the gravy and return any solids to keep the fillet moist.
Glaze and serve
Reduce the strained gravy with a spoonful of Espagnole until it thickens to a glaze.
Drain and glaze the fillet, then season the remaining gravy with butter and pour it around the meat.
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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Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together21,601 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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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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Beef + carrottop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,606 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Carrot + madeira winetop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together164 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Onion + madeira winetop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together331 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef fillet
- Is the main meat; slow braising gently tenderises it while it stays juicy.
- Lard
- Adds fat that coats the meat and keeps it moist during slow cooking.
- Madeira wine
- Adds sweetness and depth to the braising liquid and the finished gravy.
- Stock
- Provides the liquid base that cooks the fillet and forms the gravy.
- Carrots
- Flavour base that sweetens and aromatises the braising liquid and gravy.
- Onion
- Flavour base that adds savoury depth to the braising liquid and gravy.
The step that matters
Slow cooking under buttered paper. Cooking over a very slow, gentle heat with the fillet covered keeps the braising liquid from boiling hard. This gentle heat cooks the meat through while limiting moisture loss and toughening of the proteins, so it stays tender and juicy.
Swap the carrot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, onion, madeira wine):
- Potatofits about as well
- Chivefits about as well
- Carrotthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, onion, madeira wine. 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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