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Beefsteak, Broiled

A simple broiled beef steak seasoned with salt, pepper, and optional butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 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 ↓

Beefsteak, Broiled

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fire

  1. Prepare a fire with clear hot coals, allowing it to burn for half an hour.

  2. Trim the steak by removing tough edges, bones, and excess fat; save trimmings for soup.

  3. Position the fire about 5 inches from the gridiron.

Broil and serve

  1. Place the steak on the gridiron; turn it as soon as it begins to drip to retain juices.

  2. Continue turning frequently to prevent burning and preserve flavor.

  3. After about 10 minutes, check for doneness by cutting into the thickest part; it should be red in the middle.

  4. Season with salt and pepper, and add butter to the hot dish if desired.

  5. Serve immediately on a hot dish.

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 + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,847 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  3. Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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 meat; its fat and juices are kept in by turning as it cooks.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the surface of the steak after cooking.
Butter
Adds richness and flavor when melted over the hot steak, if used.

The step that matters

Turning the steak as it begins to drip. Turning the steak as soon as juices appear, and turning often, helps keep juices inside and limits scorching on the surface. Overcooking dries the meat, so checking the thickest part for red centre matters.

“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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