Why it works: Pepper and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,395 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Beef
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Cure
Cure the beef with sugar, saltpeter, coarse sea salt, black pepper, allspice, and juniper berries for 21 days.
Bake and serve
After curing, bake the beef at 300°F (150°C) for 5 to 6 hours.
Let it cool in the pan, then remove the suet before serving.
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.
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Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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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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Beef + allspicetop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,940 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Sugar + allspicetop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,938 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + peppertop 32% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together19,401 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,401 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
- Is the main cut; the cure penetrates it and the long bake sets its texture.
- Saltpetre
- Preserves the meat and gives cured beef its characteristic pink colour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and preserves the meat while seasoning it through during the cure.
- Sugar
- Balances the sharpness of the salt and softens the savoury flavour of the cure.
- Juniper berries
- Add a resinous, aromatic flavour that penetrates the meat during curing.
- Allspice
- Adds warm, aromatic spice notes to the cured crust and meat.
The step that matters
Curing for the full 21 days. Salt and saltpetre must reach the centre of the meat to preserve it. Turning the meat and keeping it fully covered in cure through the whole period ensures an even, safe result.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, sugar, pepper):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Rosemaryfits about as well
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Allspicethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, sugar, 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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