Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> I've got a 1.75# slab of top round that's an inch thick. Any reason I
> should not attempt to slice it in half horizontally for my Swish Steak?
> I haven't made that stuff in at least two-three years. Must be because
> I'm never satisfied with how it comes out.
>
> What's your way to do it? Mostly, I'm interested in how long it should
> braise or simmer before it's done -- and if it EVER gets tender.

I don't see any advantage to slicing it in half, other than to reduce the
thickness of tough meat that you have to chew through if you use the same
technique that lead to it being tough on previous tries. Perhaps you would
be better off to beat it with one of those meat tenderizing mallets. It's
been years since I have done Swiss Steak, but I do a lot of other braising,
and from my experience the trick is to brown the meat and then *simmer*
being very careful not to boil it. I get the best results when I start
things in a pan or Dutch oven remove the meat while the sauce is thickened
a bit, then stick it in a 300 degree oven for a few hours, and even better
if it is prepared ahead of time and then re-heated in the oven the next
day.