Why it works: Butter and anchovy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,697 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Beef-steak Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the meat
Cut the steak into moderately small pieces and trim off the outer skin and excess fat.
Heat a frying pan rubbed with butter until hot, then brown both sides of the meat.
Assemble and bake
Remove the meat, season with pepper, and place it in a pie dish lined with crust.
Pour in 1 cup of strong gravy and add essence of anchovy or shrimp if using, omitting salt.
Cover with a lid of crust and bake for 1 hour at 400°F (200°C).
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.
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Butter + anchovytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,697 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Pepper + anchovytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,232 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 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
- Tender rump steak
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender during the long covered bake.
- Strong gravy
- Adds moisture and savoury depth that fills the pie around the meat.
- Butter
- Browns the meat surface in the pan, adding colour and roasted flavour.
The step that matters
Browning the meat in the pan. Searing both sides in hot butter builds browned, savoury flavour through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pan or leaving the pan too cool will steam the meat grey instead.
“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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