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Hungarian Rump Steak

A Hungarian-style rump steak cooked with onions, paprika, tomatoes, and potatoes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Hungarian Rump Steak

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. In a skillet, heat lard and fry the chopped onions with paprika until softened.

  2. Add a little water to the skillet and season the meat with coarse sea salt.

Cook and serve

  1. Fry the seasoned rump steak quickly and place it on top of the onions.

  2. Pour a little chopped tomato over the steak and cover to steam until soft.

  3. Cut the potatoes into long strips and place them on top of the meat.

  4. Do not stir; shake the skillet occasionally and add water as needed.

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. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

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

  2. Tomato + potatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,798 recipes

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

  3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Rump steak
Provides the main meat, which browns on the outside while the lower layers steam gently.
Onions
Soften into a sweet base that adds moisture and flavour to the skillet.
Tomatoes
Release juice as they steam, adding moisture and acidity to the dish.
Paprika
Adds a warm, sweet-smoky flavour and colour to the frying onions.
Potatoes
Steam on top of the meat, becoming soft while absorbing savoury juices.

The step that matters

Do not stir; shake the skillet occasionally. Stirring breaks the layers apart and can scorch the paprika and onions on the base. Gentle shaking and small amounts of water keep the layers intact and moist while they steam.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, potato):

  1. Chivefits better
  2. Leekfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, potato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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