Why it works: Beef and pork match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,690 recipes. Both carry 12-methyltridecanal, which smells tallowy, beefy. The science ↓
Croquettes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the beef finely.
In a bowl, combine the chopped beef, beaten egg, butter, rolled crackers, salt, and pepper.
Form the mixture into balls.
Roll the balls in cracker crumbs.
Fry
Fry the balls in hot pork fat until golden brown.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Beef + porktop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,690 recipes
Shared aroma: 12-methyltridecanal (tallowy, beefy).
-
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Butter + porktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Pepper + porktop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,121 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Beef + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,847 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beef
- Forms the main body of the croquettes and gives them their savory meaty flavor.
- Beaten egg
- Binds the chopped beef and crackers so the mixture holds its shape.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the meat mixture.
- Crackers
- Absorb moisture and help bind the mixture into shapable balls.
- Cracker crumbs
- Form a crisp, browned coating when fried.
The step that matters
Fry in hot pork fat. The fat must be hot enough to brown the coating quickly; if it is too cool, the croquettes absorb more grease and turn soggy before the outside sets and turns golden.
“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.
More croquettes recipes
You might also like
Roast Beef211 recipes
Beef Loaf175 recipes
Pork Cake107 recipes
Corned Beef87 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.