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 ↓
Meat Cure
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the meat
Cut the steak into strips, removing all fat and gristle.
Mince the meat at least twice.
Make the paste
In a large saucepan, beat the minced meat with cold water or skimmed beef tea until it reaches a creamy consistency. Use 1 teaspoon of liquid for every 8 teaspoons of meat pulp.
Add black pepper and salt to taste.
Cook and serve
Cook over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until hot and the red color disappears, about 1.5 hours.
Serve hot, optionally adding a softly poached egg white for the first few meals.
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 + eggtop 31% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 50,580 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Steak
- Provides the protein that sets into a firm, savoury paste as it cooks.
- Cold water or skimmed beef tea
- Adds moisture so the minced meat blends into a creamy consistency.
- Egg white
- Optional addition that adds a soft, mild texture when poached.
The step that matters
Cook over low heat with constant stirring. Low heat and steady stirring keep the meat from scorching or sticking while it heats through evenly. Cooking until the red color disappears shows the meat is fully cooked through.
“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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