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 ↓
Brown Stock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Place the shin of beef, knuckle of veal, and sheep's trotters or cow-heel in a covered stewpan to draw out the gravy gently until it becomes brown.
Pour in enough boiling water to cover the meat completely.
Bring the mixture to a boil, skimming frequently.
Simmer
Season with whole black pepper, coarse sea salt, and any roots, herbs, and vegetables you have.
Let it boil gently for 5 to 6 hours.
Strain and store
Pour the broth off the meat and let it cool overnight.
The next morning, remove the scum and fat.
Store the stock in a stone jar for future use.
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).
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Beef + vealtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,784 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Veal + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,049 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Shin of beef
- Releases gelatin and meat flavour into the stock as it simmers slowly.
- Knuckle of veal
- Adds body and gelatin, giving the finished stock a richer mouthfeel.
- Sheep's trotters or cow-heel
- Contributes collagen, which dissolves into gelatin to thicken the stock.
The step that matters
Skimming the boil. Scum and impurities rise to the surface as the stock heats. Removing them early keeps the broth clear and prevents off-flavours from mixing back in during the long simmer.
“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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