Why it works: Beef and pork match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,690 recipes. Both carry 12-methyltridecanal, which smells tallowy, beefy. The science ↓
Roasting Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Set the fire
Regulate the fire strength based on the size of the meat.
Use a brisk fire for small joints.
Use a substantial fire for large joints.
Roast the meat
Skewer writing paper over the fat of large beef pieces and baste while roasting.
When the meat is nearly done, remove the paper.
Baste again.
Dredge with flour.
Roast mutton and lamb with a clear, quick fire.
Keep veal at a distance from the fire initially.
Baste veal with butter.
Move veal closer as it warms up.
Dredge veal with flour when nearly done.
Ensure pork is well done to avoid nausea.
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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Beef + porktop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,690 recipes
Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
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Beef + lambtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together896 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Lamb + porktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together623 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Mutton + lambtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Beef + muttontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,373 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
- Writing paper over the fat protects the surface and keeps the large pieces moist while roasting.
- Butter
- Basting with butter adds fat that moistens the veal and encourages surface browning.
- Flour
- Dredging with flour helps form a crisp, browned crust on the outside of the meat.
The step that matters
Ensure pork is well done. Pork must be cooked through, since undercooked pork can carry harmful microbes. The record directs that it be well done to avoid nausea.
“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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