Swiss Steak Recipe

Most any Swiss steak recipe will begin with a beefsteak that has been tenderized by pounding, coated with flour and browned on both sides.

It is then braised for a period of time until tender.

Other than that basic method it lends itself to many variations.

One of those variations is whether to use tomatoes or not.

When my Mom made Swiss steak she always used tomatoes. Any non-tomato dish she cooked in the same manner she called smothered steak.

Both variations are included here along with a braising variation.

Easy Swiss Steak Recipe

3 T oil
2 lbs beef round steak, 1" thick
1/4 cup flour
1 envelope Lipton's Dry Onion Soup Mix
1/2 t garlic powder
8 oz can Hunt's tomato sauce
Water

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Heat the cooking oil in a heavy fry pan.

Pound the steak on both sides with a heavy meat mallet, and cut into serving size pieces. Combine the flour and garlic and pound into the meat pieces. Fry in the hot oil until browned on all sides.

Layer the steaks in a 13x9x2 baking dish and sprinkle the soup mix over the meat. Mix the tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water and pour over all. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 2-3 hours until tender. Check each hour to see if you need to add more water.

The above recipe done in the oven is definitely easy. But the crock pot is almost the perfect braising appliance which makes the job even easier.

Crock Pot Swiss Steak

2 pounds beef cube steak
4 cans mushroom steak sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of mushrooms
1 onion, sliced (optional)

Cut the steak into serving size pieces. Flour the steak and brown it. Put in crock pot and the pour mixture over. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours (high 3 to 5 hours).

Swiss Steak Seasoning

A Swiss steak recipe is in the same category with a lot of other recipes. That is, any seasoning you want to use is acceptable.

I'm especially fond of oregano and it goes great with tomatoes so when I use a tomato-based recipe I usually throw some in.

The Beef

Guess what? In the entire beef critter there is not a Swiss steak! The term is actually the method of preparing the meat.

Swissing is an English term that originally referred to running cloth through rollers to smooth it out and soften it.

Any steak will work in any Swiss steak recipe. But the long, slow braising is especially good for the tougher cuts of beef from the chuck or the round primal.

The long, slow cooking develops flavor and tenderizes the meat by gently breaking down their fibers.

I usually just buy cube steak for making Swiss steak, which is most often from the round. But if you want to do your own tenderizing any steak will do just fine.