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Beef-Steak

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

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 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 ↓

Beef-Steak

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Pound the beef steak until the fibers break.

  2. Prepare a broiler with plenty of good coals.

Cook and serve

  1. Broil the steak, turning it frequently to cook evenly.

  2. Ensure the lean part is rare and the fat is cooked.

  3. Place the steak on a platter to collect the juices.

  4. Add butter, salt, and pepper to the steak before serving.

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. Butter + peppertop 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 protein; pounding breaks the fibers so the meat cooks more tender.
Butter
Adds richness and moisture to the finished steak.

The step that matters

Ensure the lean part is rare and the fat is cooked. Lean meat dries out and toughens quickly under high heat, while fat needs more time to render and cook through. Turning frequently helps the two parts reach different doneness evenly.

“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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