Why it works: Beef and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,435 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
To Salt and Pickle Beef, in Various Ways
Ingredients
Directions
Hang the meat for a couple of days in mild weather or four to five days in winter before salting or pickling.
In summer, immerse the meat entirely in brine to protect it from flies and spoilage.
Trim the meat and remove any kernels from the fat.
Rub a little fine dry salt over the meat and leave it until the next day.
Drain the blood from the meat, which will have flowed out, and it will be ready for curing.
In very cold weather, apply warm salt to the meat, ensuring it is perfectly dry and powdered.
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.
-
Beef + sugartop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,435 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
More salted beef recipes
You might also like
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Corned Beef87 recipes
Beef Broth67 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.