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Beefsteak Smothered in Oysters

Beefsteak smothered in oysters is a dish of broiled porter‑house steaks topped with stewed oysters and butter‑pepper‑salt sauce.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Oyster and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,184 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓

Beefsteak Smothered in Oysters

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Cook the steaks

  1. Broil the small porter-house steaks until nicely browned and arrange them on a platter.

Prepare the oysters

  1. Stew the oysters slightly in their own liquor.

  2. Arrange the stewed oysters in rows on each steak.

Finish and heat

  1. Season the oyster liquor with butter, pepper, and coarse sea salt, then pour it over the steaks.

  2. Add a little butter on top of each steak and place the platter in a 400°F (200°C) oven until hot.

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. Oyster + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,663 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Porter-house steaks
Provide the main meat, which browns under the broiler for color and savory flavor.
Oysters
Add a briny, delicate seafood flavor that contrasts with the richness of the beef.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, carrying flavor over the steaks and oysters.

The step that matters

Stewing the oysters slightly. Oysters turn tough and rubbery when overcooked. Warming them only until their edges curl keeps them tender while the liquor gives them flavor.

“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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