Ron's Swiss Steak
On Sundays I like to stop at the local Food Lion supermarket in Milton to check out the meat sales. Today I was in luck. They had London Broil steak on sale. I usually don't buy steak because it is too expensive but I couldn't pass up today's sale. I bought 2.18 pounds of London Broil originally priced at $11.97 for $4.02. That's a savings of $7.65. I'll take it!
London Broil 2.18 lbs
My Number One special recipe is Swiss Steak. I have yet to make it this summer. In summers past I made it often to take advantage of the abundance of fresh tomatoes, green peppers and onions. I had purchased fresh tomatoes and green peppers from the fruit and vegetable stand on Route 5 on the outskirts of Milton on Friday. Today was the day that I put all of these fresh ingredients together for a sumptuous meal. Accompanied of course by home made mashed potatoes. Bill says no one, but no one make better mashed potatoes (we call them "Squashed Potatoes") than me. I have to agree with him, I do whip up a good batch of mashed (Squashed) potatoes if I do say so myself. No false modesty here.
Below is my recipe for Swiss Steak that I will share with all the readers of this blog. You may like it, or not. But I haven't tasted any better and in the end, isn't that all that matters? What taste best for you? You'll never taste this kind of food from Sysco, that's for sure.
RON'S SWISS STEAK
Ingredients:
2 lbs London Broil or Round Steak
5 ripe tomatoes
1 large green pepper
1 large onion
1 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can Italian style stewed tomatoes
6 slices bacon
2 tablespoons all purpose vegetable oil
Fresh Veggies
Preparation:
Cut the steak into 2 inch square cubes
Season the flour with salt and pepper
Place flour in large bowl
Dredge the cubed steak into the flour
Pound the floured cubed steak with a metal meat tenderizer hammer
Flour the steak again
Pound again
Pound that flour into the meat
After the first pounding, coat in flour again
After the bacon is finished, take it out and leave the bacon grease.
Keep the grease hot and brown the twice floured cubed steak.
As the bacon grease is assorted, add more vegetable oil and cook the remaining steak cubes.
After all the steak cubes are browned, remove to a bowl and drain the remaining oil in the pan.
Leave the brown bits (this will add to the flavor of the Swiss Steak.)
Brown the meat in the bacon grease and vegetable oil
Set aside the browned meat
Core the green pepper and cut into short strips.
Peel the onion and slice into circles.
Top the meat with the fresh tomatoes
Top the meat and tomatoes with the fresh onions
Top the tomatoes and onions with the fresh green peppers
Reheat the pan up, with the brown bits, and place all the brown steak cubes.
Cover the browned steak cubes with the tomatoes, onions and green peppers.Around the edge of the pan pour the can of diced tomatoes and stewed tomatoes.
Cover all and simmer at least one hour to an hour and a half.
The vegetables that cover the steak cubes will infuse them with a fresh garden flavor. The liquid in the pan will tenderize the steak.
Grind some pepper from a pepper mill ore all and serve over freshly made mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
This is probably my favorite recipe. I've been making it since I learned it from my Mother about sixty years ago. This is not my Mother's original recipe. I have made many changes over the years.
I prefer to use fresh summer vegetables that are in season with this recipe. They seem to give it a unique "summer" taste that you can't get from using canned tomatoes alone. But you can make this recipe from canned tomatoes. Perhaps the most important thing to remember from this recipe, it to make sure you thoroughly pound your meat before you brown it. That's where you get the fork tender morsels of beef.
Hmmmmm good!
