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Grilled Beef

Thin slices of cold roast beef are coated in an egg‑based dressing and grilled until browned.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,922 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Grilled Beef

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing

  1. Dip the beef slices in a dressing made by beating the egg until light.

  2. Gradually add the olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar, alternating, until thick like cold cream.

  3. Stir in salt, white pepper, mustard, and cayenne.

Grill and serve

  1. Broil the beef over a clear fire until browned and heated through.

  2. Transfer to a hot platter, place a piece of butter on each slice, and briefly set in the oven before serving.

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. Olive + lemontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,922 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Olive + mustardtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,950 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Lemon + mustardtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,816 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Beef + olivetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,220 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  5. Olive + buttertop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,887 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Egg
Its proteins bind the dressing and help it cling to the beef slices.
Olive oil or melted butter
Adds fat that makes the dressing rich and smooth.
Lemon juice or vinegar
Acidity thickens the beaten egg into an emulsion and adds a bright tang.
Mustard
Helps stabilise the emulsion and adds a sharp flavour.

The step that matters

Adding the oil and acid gradually. Adding the oil and lemon juice or vinegar slowly, alternating, lets the egg emulsify them. Adding too much at once can split the dressing so it stays thin and oily.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, egg, olive, lemon, mustard, butter):

  1. Capersfits better
  2. Tarragonfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, egg, olive, lemon, mustard, butter. 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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