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 ↓
Broiled Beefsteak
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the steak at least 1 inch thick, trimming off any excess fat.
Wipe the steak with a cloth dampened in cold water.
Grease a wire broiler with some of the fat from the steak.
Broil
Place the steak in the broiler and season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Broil the steak until it reaches your desired level of doneness.
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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Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef steak
- Provides the main protein, and its fat adds flavour and moisture during broiling.
The step that matters
Broil the steak until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Steak thickness and broiler heat change cooking speed quickly, so the interior can overcook while the surface is still browning. Checking doneness by internal temperature or touch helps avoid a dry, tough result.
“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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