Why it works: Beef and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 5,445 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 16Ingredients
Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Pat the chuck roasts dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Sear the roasts about 3 to 4 minutes per side until well browned, then transfer them to a 6-quart slow cooker.
Pour the beef stock and crushed tomatoes into the skillet, scrape up the browned bits, and bring to a simmer. Pour over the roasts.
Add the pepperoncinis with their juice, the drained hot cherry peppers, and both jars of pimentos, drained, around the meat. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours (240 minutes), until the beef is fork-tender.
Check that the thickest part of the meat reaches at least 145°F (63°C) and rest it 3 minutes; it should be tender enough to shred. Shred the beef with two forks and stir it back into the juices.
Toast the rolls, spread them with butter if using, and fill with the drip beef. Top with a slice of provolone or mozzarella and serve.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Beef + tomatotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,445 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,164 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Tomato + cherrytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,110 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Olive + mozzarella cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,723 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
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Tomato + mozzarella cheesetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the cherry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, pepper, beef, tomato, mozzarella cheese):
- Avocadoabout as good a flavor fit
- Cherrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against olive, pepper, beef, tomato, mozzarella cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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