Why it works: Beef and pepper 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 ↓
Roast Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the beef
Dredge the beef on all sides with salt, pepper, and flour.
Run a spit through the center of the meat.
Roast over the fire
Place it near the fire, turning as it browns.
When the flour is browned, add 1 pint of hot water.
Baste frequently.
Roast for 50 minutes for rare, or 1 hour and 15 minutes for medium. Adding 10 minutes for each additional pound.
Roast in the oven
For oven roasting, prepare the meat as before.
Place it on a rack in a baking pan.
Cover the bottom of the pan lightly with flour.
Add enough hot water to cover the bottom.
Place in a very hot oven for a few minutes to brown the flour.
Baste with the gravy every 15 minutes.
Turn the meat to brown the other side once one side is brown.
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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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Pepper + flourtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Beef + flourtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,677 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Beef and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 10,677 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Forms the main body of the roast, and its fat and juices carry the flavor and moisture through cooking.
- Flour
- Coats the surface, where it browns and forms a crust and a base for the gravy.
- Hot water
- Mixes with the browned flour and drippings to form the basting gravy that keeps the meat moist.
The step that matters
Turning the meat as it browns. Browning builds the crust and flavor, and uneven browning leaves one side pale. Turning gives even colour, and basting keeps the surface from drying out.
“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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