How to Make the Best Swiss Steak in Your City
Your City: There's nothing like a fork sinking straight through a slab of slow-braised round steak, with tomato gravy pooling into a mound of buttery mashed potatoes.
What Most People Don't Know About Making Swiss Steak
- "Swissing" means pounding the flour in, not just dredging. The name comes from the British textile term "swissing," which means pressing cloth between rollers. Pounding the flour into the meat with a textured mallet cuts the tough muscle fibers and works the flour into the surface. That gives you a crust that holds up during the braise, and as the meat cooks, that flour slowly thickens the gravy.
- Cook the tomato paste until it turns brick red. Raw tomato paste tastes tinny and sharp. If you fry it in the fat for about 2 minutes, until it darkens from bright red to rust, its sugars caramelize and its glutamates concentrate. That step is what gives the gravy a deep, beefy backbone instead of a canned-tomato flavor.
- Braise in a 300°F oven with the meat only partly covered by liquid. Round steak is lean, so a stovetop boil squeezes its moisture out before the connective tissue has time to break down. The low, even heat of the oven keeps the braise at a bare simmer. Leaving the tops of the steaks above the liquid lets them brown slightly while the gravy reduces underneath.
Ingredients
For the steak:
- 2 lbs beef bottom round or top round, cut ¾-inch thick, then into 6 portions
- 1½ teaspoons Bald Buck Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the braise:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1½ cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon Bald Buck Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Season. Pat the steaks completely dry. Season both sides with 1½ teaspoons Bald Buck Seasoning and the black pepper. Heat the oven to 300°F.
- Swiss the steaks. In a shallow dish, whisk together the flour and paprika. Dredge each steak, then pound both sides with the textured side of a meat mallet until about ½-inch thick. Dredge again and pound once more, until the flour disappears into the surface. Save the leftover flour.
- Brown hard. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Sear the steaks in batches without crowding, 3–4 minutes per side, until deep golden brown. Move them to a plate.
- Build the base. Lower the heat to medium and add the butter, onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook 6–8 minutes, scraping up the browned bits, until the vegetables are soft and starting to turn golden.
- Cook the paste. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes, until the paste turns from bright red to brick red. Sprinkle in 1 tablespoon of the reserved dredging flour and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add the liquid. Stir in the diced tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaf, and ½ teaspoon Bald Buck Seasoning. Scrape the bottom clean and bring to a simmer.
- Braise low. Nestle the steaks and any juices from the plate into the pot. Overlap them slightly if needed. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the meat. Cover and braise in the oven for 2 to 2½ hours, until a fork slides in with no resistance.
- Rest in the gravy. Take the pot out and uncover it. Let it sit for 20 minutes so the meat can reabsorb liquid as it cools slightly.
- Finish off heat. Remove the bay leaf. Stir the vinegar into the gravy to brighten it. If you want the gravy thicker, move the steaks to a platter, simmer the gravy for 3–5 minutes, then pour it back over. Top with parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Make-Ahead Option
Swiss steak is better on day two. Braise it completely, cool it in its gravy, and refrigerate it covered for up to 3 days. Reheat it covered at 300°F for 30–40 minutes, adding a splash of broth if the gravy has gotten too thick.
Enjoy Your Swiss Steak!
Pull up a chair, grab a big spoon for the gravy, and take your time with this one.
For a richer version, replace ½ cup of the broth with dry red wine, added right after the tomato paste.
