This classic Swiss steak is prepared with a thick slice of the top round steak, slowly cooked in tomato sauce until completely tender. One steak easily feeds a whole family.
What is Swiss Steak?
Swiss steak is a method of slow cooking a relatively tough cut of beef, such as a beef steak. B. a round steak. The meat is browned and then braised in a tomato sauce.
According to The American Century Cookbook, the first recipes for Swiss steaks appeared in the 1930s. Reynolds Wrap Aluminum popularized it in the late ’40s by promoting the recipe as a use for its wrap. Your recipe called for you to line a skillet with foil and cook the steak in the oven. (Ours below is made on the stovetop.)
The “Swiss” in Swiss Steak has nothing to do with Switzerland, but refers to the tenderizing of a tough cut of meat. The following recipe is my mother’s method of preparing Swiss steak.
The best side dishes for Swiss steak
In this recipe, we cook our side veggies—potatoes and carrots—in the tomato broth alongside the steak. This way they will absorb some of the flavor of the steak.
If you want to braise your side veggies with your steak, my mom recommends par-cooking the veggies, either by steaming or boiling them, until they’re no longer raw but still crispy, then adding them to the pan with the steak towards the end of the cooking time. Par-cooking helps ensure they cook through on the low heat of the oven.
You can also serve Swiss steak along with roasted vegetables. If you fancy, you can roast these Hasselback potatoes and some Brussels sprouts in the oven while the steak cooks on the stove.
More favorite steak recipes
Swiss steak
If you prefer to cook the steak in the ovenJust make sure you’re using an oven-safe pot, bring the tomato puree to a simmer, place the steak in the oven, covered, and cook, covered, at 300F.
ingredients
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A 2 to 2 1/2 pound round or top round steak, about 1 inch thick
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A couple of tablespoons of flour
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salt and pepper
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3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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1 onion, roughly chopped
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1 garlic clove, chopped
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2 cups crushed tomatoes (canned or fresh)
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2 teaspoons each of fresh thyme, sage, marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon each dried
- Optional: Vegetables like potatoes, carrots, or green beans
method
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Sear the steak on both sides:
Rub flour into both sides of the steak. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide, shallow pan (with lid) over medium-high heat. Place the steak in the pan and sear about 10 minutes on each side, enough to brown the steak.
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Sauté onions and garlic:
Remove the steak from the pan and set aside. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and add another tablespoon of oil.
Sauté the onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes, using a metal spatula to scrape up any steak residue and mix with the onions. Add half of the herbs to the onions.
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Add steak, herbs, tomato puree:
Return the steak to the pan and place it on top of the onions. Squeeze the onions around and onto the steak. Scatter the remaining herbs over the steak. Add 2 cups of crushed tomatoes to the pan.
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Cover and simmer:
Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. If you have a matching domed lid, use it. A domed lid helps circulate steam and moisture from the cooking juices, keeping the steak moist.
Bring the steak to a simmer in the tomato puree, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting to maintain a gentle simmer. (We use the warm setting on our electric stove, if you’re using a high BTU gas stove you may want to prop the pot up on a rolled-up foil to give it more distance from the heat.)
Cook for 1 1/2 hours.
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Pre-cook vegetables:
While the steak is cooking, you can lightly pre-cook the vegetables you plan to serve with the steak. For example, for this dish, we sautéed 4 small, peeled, quartered red potatoes and 2 carrots, quartered lengthways and cut into 2-inch segments, for 5-10 minutes. (You can also use other veggies like green beans or no veggies at all.)
After 1 1/2 hours of cooking the steak, we uncovered the pan, flipped the steak, added the potatoes and carrots, covered the pan, and cooked the steak and veggies for another 30 minutes.
The reason you might want to par-cook the veggies first is because the steak will cook over a very low heat. You have more control over how cooked the veggies are if you pre-cook them a little first.
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Cut and serve:
The steak should be ready after a total cooking time of 2 hours. To check this, you can pierce it with a fork. The meat should be quite tender.
To serve, remove the steak and slice on a carving board. Alternatively, you could have started with smaller steaks. Spoon the sauce over the steak.
