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Rump-steak with Fried Potatoes

A steak served with fried potato slices, seasoned with butter, herbs, salt, and pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,305 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Rump-steak with Fried Potatoes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Heat the butter in a frying pan until very hot.

  2. Peel and cut the potatoes into long thin slices.

Cook

  1. Fry the potatoes in the hot butter until they are a nice brown color.

  2. Broil the steaks over a clear fire, turning frequently for even cooking, about 5 minutes.

  3. Add the herbs and seasoning to the butter used for frying the potatoes.

  4. Pour the butter under the steak.

  5. Garnish with the fried potatoes.

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. Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 recipes

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

  2. Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Butter + peppertop 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

Rump steak
Provides the main protein; broiling over high heat browns its surface while keeping the inside tender.
Potatoes
Frying in hot butter browns their surface and gives a crisp exterior with a soft interior.
Butter
Carries heat for frying the potatoes and adds rich flavor and browning, then is poured over the steak.

The step that matters

Fry the potatoes in the hot butter until nicely browned. Butter that is not hot enough will steam the thin potato slices instead of browning them, leaving them pale and greasy. Frying in properly heated fat drives off surface moisture so the slices crisp.

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatothe original
  3. Carrotfits less well
  4. Onionfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper. 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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