Why it works: Pepper and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Beefsteak and Kidney Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a fairly hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Cut the kidneys into thin slices across.
Place one slice of kidney on each slice of meat.
Roll the meat and kidney slices tightly.
Stand the rolls on end in a pie dish.
Season with salt and pepper.
Moisten with water or gravy.
Assemble and bake
Line the edges of the dish with paste.
Cover with the remaining paste.
Decorate the surface with fancifully cut leaves of paste.
Flake the edge of the paste.
Brush the paste with beaten egg.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 1 to 1½ hours.
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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Pepper + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Buttock steak
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender during the long slow bake.
- Kidneys
- Adds a rich, strong flavour and a dense, savoury texture to the filling.
- Rough puff paste
- Forms the crust, which puffs and turns crisp and golden in the oven.
- Egg
- Brushed on the paste, it promotes browning and a glossy finish.
The step that matters
Roll the meat and kidney slices tightly. Tight rolls keep the kidney and meat together and hold their shape, so the filling stays even and does not fall apart while baking.
“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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