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Melba's Jammin' at wrote on 1/2/05 6:39 PM:
> In article >, Dave Smith
> > wrote:
>
>> Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
>>> 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.
>
> That's a given, although I usually use a knife or the edge of a saucer.
> Planning to slice it because I don't want it that thick and the round
> steak I usually buy is thinner. The stuff they had that was thinner,
> though, was considerably thinner -- and more expensive.
>
>> 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.
>
> Gack. I wonder if this is one for the dreaded crock pot.
Yeah, I'd crock pot it.
Brown it first, of course.
Then smother it with sauteed onions, sliced green bell peppers if you like
them. Mushrooms couldn't hurt. Lots of caramelized onions though.
About a cup of tomato sauce. No more than a cup, especially if you're crock
potting it. Some worcestershire really adds zing to it.
Just let it cook on low for 5-6 hours.
(3-3.5 hours in the oven at 300 degrees.)
You can thicken the gravy when the meat is tender with potato starch (or
other starch), or you could transfer it to a skillet and reduce it.
Either way, serve it with noodles or mashed potatoes to take advantage of
the wonderful gravy.
I usually use bottom round for swiss steak, though, Barb.
Top Round, such as you describe, I usually marinate it for 24-36 hours in an
acidy marinade and then broil or grill it as "London Broil".
But this top round can be done this way.
And yes, to answer your question, I would "butterfly" the meat, then cut
into portions. Probably get 6-8 servings this way.
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