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Beef Steak and Oyster Pudding

A pudding made by layering thin slices of beef with oysters, seasoned and boiled in beef stock.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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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 ↓

Beef Steak and Oyster Pudding

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the beef fillets into thin slices and season with salt and pepper.

  2. Layer the beef slices and oysters alternately in a basin.

  3. Add some beef stock to the layers.

Cook and serve

  1. Cover and boil for about 2 hours.

  2. 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. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

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

  2. Beef + oystertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together798 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  3. Pepper + oystertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,663 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

Fillets of beef
Forms the main body of the pudding and becomes tender during the long cooking.
Oysters
Adds a briny, savoury flavour that blends into the beef and stock.
Beef stock
Provides moisture so the layers cook through without drying out.

The step that matters

Covering and boiling the layers. The pudding needs enough liquid and a steady, covered simmer for about 2 hours so the beef softens. Letting the liquid boil away or cooking too fast can leave the meat tough and dry.

“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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