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Beef Loaf

A loaf of lean beef mixed with eggs, crackers, butter, and seasonings, baked until cooked.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Beef Loaf

Why it works: Pepper and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,971 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Beef Loaf

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Shape the loaf

  1. In a bowl, mix the eggs, rolled crackers, pepper, salt, and chopped beef until well combined.

  2. Mold the mixture into a loaf shape and place it in a baking dish.

  3. Spread bits of butter on top of the loaf.

Bake and serve

  1. In a separate bowl, mix the butter with boiling water and baste the loaf with this mixture while baking.

  2. Bake carefully until cooked through, then slice when cool.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Pepper + beeftop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

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

  2. Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,847 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

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

  5. Egg + beeftop 31% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,305 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

Chopped lean beef
Forms the bulk of the loaf and gives it its meaty flavor and texture.
Eggs
Bind the mixture so the loaf holds its shape when sliced.
Rolled crackers
Absorb juices and help keep the loaf tender and moist.
Butter
Adds richness and fat that keeps the top of the loaf moist and flavorful.

The step that matters

Bake carefully until cooked through, then slice when cool. Ground meat must reach a safe internal temperature throughout, and the loaf needs to rest so its juices settle and it holds together when sliced.

“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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