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Beefsteak and Oysters Stewed

A stew of beefsteak and oysters cooked with butter, water, pepper, and sea salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and oyster are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,184 recipes. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓

Beefsteak and Oysters Stewed

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine the beefsteak, butter, and a little water in a stew pan.

  2. Brown the meat.

  3. Pour in the ½ cup of water.

  4. Add pepper, salt, and the strained liquor from the oysters.

  5. Place the pan over medium heat and let it stew gently.

  6. Roll a piece of butter in flour and add it along with the oysters.

  7. Stew until the oysters are cooked through.

  8. Serve hot.

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. Butter + oystertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

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

  3. Oyster + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together7,663 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

Beefsteak
Provides the meat that becomes tender during slow stewing.
Butter
Adds richness and fat for flavour and a smooth mouthfeel.
Oysters
Contribute a briny, savoury flavour and tender texture when gently cooked.
Flour (in the method)
Thickens the stew liquid as the butter and flour coat the pieces.

The step that matters

Stew until the oysters are cooked through. Oysters toughen and shrink when overcooked, so they should be added late and simmered gently only until they firm and curl at the edges.

“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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