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Broiled Steak

A steak cooked quickly over high heat, seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter, optionally served with shredded shallot.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Shallot and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,898 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Broiled Steak

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat your grill or broiler to high heat.

  2. If using, finely shred the shallot and place it on the serving dish with butter while the steak cooks.

Cook and serve

  1. Cook the steak quickly at first to harden the outside and retain juices.

  2. Turn the steak every minute with tongs to prevent drying and loss of gravy.

  3. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes for proper broiling.

  4. When the steak is done, pass it through the melted butter on both sides.

  5. Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, and serve 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. Shallot + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,898 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Shallot + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,426 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked 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

Steak
Provides the main protein; a quick initial sear firms the outside and holds juices inside.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture, and coats the cooked steak with a glossy, savory fat.
Shallot
Adds a mild, sweet onion-like aroma that complements the beef.

The step that matters

Turn the steak every minute. Frequent turning under high heat keeps the surface from overcooking and drying before the interior is done, helping retain juices and gravy inside the meat.

Swap the shallot

The recipe marks shallot as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Carrotfits about as well
  4. Shallotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pepper. 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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