Conference turris::cooks

1453.0. "Swiss Steak" by PIETRO::ANSELMO (Are those 2 really the best we have?) Thu Oct 20 1988 23:59

I'm not sure what Swiss Steak really is.  My mother made a wonderful
dish which she called Swiss Steak. It was essentially round steak cooked in
a tomato and mushroom sauce, and she invariably served it with rice over
which ample quantities of the sauce was spooned.  In college I was exposed
to a concoction in which unidentifiable slices of meat were subjected to
unspeakable tortures in an indescribable brown gravy, Nay, substance, that
was ladled over gummy noodles on dishes which, though steamed, held
remembrances of many meals long past.  It too was called "Swiss Steak". 

This morning I took two substantial chunks of shoulder steak out of the 
freezer, because I knew I would be coming home a little late, and I figured 
that I could just toss it in the broiler, and serve up a quick "London 
broil" with canned beef gravy (London broil is in quotes because, despite
the supermarket label on the meat, L.B. should be made with flank steak). 
On the way home two unrelated thoughts became juxtaposed in my mind.  The
first was that I would prepare the shoulder as Swiss Steak instead of just
broiling it, even though it has been 25 years+ since I tasted Mom's, and I
never had the recipe.  The second was the Simon and Garfunkle song (it was
not on the radio at the time), "Scarborough Faire (sp?)"  So I thought,
"OK, 'Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme' it is!" 

I halved each shoulder steak and then sliced each piece laterally to wind 
up with eight pieces, approx. 6 oz. ea., 1/2 in. thick.  I splashed a 
little oil in my 14" iron skillet, heated it, then crushed about a tsp. of 
rosemary leaves in the palm of my hand and tossed them in the oil.  When 
the oil was hot (but before the rosemary was singed) I sprinkled the steaks 
with a little garlic powder and tossed them in.  As they browned I 
sprinkled them liberally with thyme and sage (don't ask me how much - it 
just kind of felt right).  When they were thoroughly browned I added a 28 
oz. can of crushed tomatoes, a 3 oz. can of tomato paste, and 1/2 cup of 
water (actually I rinsed the tomato paste can with water, then splasshed 
just a little more in), sprinkled parsley flakes over the top, added two 4 
oz. cans of mushroom stems and pieces, stirred it a little, covered, and 
reduced the heat, and simmered for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, I cooked a pot of plain boiled rice and also a vegetable side 
dish while one of the kids (under duress) made the salad - our kids do a 
damn fine job with salad when properly motivated.

Not half bad, IIDSSM.

buon'appetito
Bob Anselmo

P.S.  If there is already a Swiss Steak (or related) topic, my apologies.
I did a dir/title="swiss steak", and finally CTRL_C'd out of it after
15 minutes.  Proper noting etiquitte(sp) has its limits.  What's this
conference on anyway, an old '8'?

    I don't know if there is already a recipe, but I just use the one
    in my Betty Crocker cookbook, and sometime the one in my Crockpot
    cookbook.  I like that one better because the meat really gets tender.
    I also use what the store calls round steak.  Hope this helps. 
    If you really want the recipe, I'll try to remember to post it on
    Monday.  
    
    Bernice