Simple and scrumptious: Swiss steak

This is the Swiss steak recipe I grew up with and it’s still a family favorite. The ingredients are basic yet they combine to make such a delicious dinner.

I especially love this with rice to sop up the sauce and flavor. I usually steam rice but I prefer this dish with boiled white rice, or what I refer to as “sticky” rice.

One pound of meat will serve two or three people, but the amounts in this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you’re serving a large crowd.

Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Preparation takes only about 20 minutes but the dish needs an hour on the stovetop to cook.

Ingredients:
1 pound pepper steak
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4-5 tablespoons oil
1 rounded cup diced onion (about ½ of a large onion)
1 rounded cup diced celery
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 can of water
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 bay leaf, optional

If you’re serving this dish with rice, start the rice first. Rice takes about 20 minutes to cook and the meat takes about 20 minutes to prepare; the rice will be finished before you put the Swiss steak on for an hour-long slow simmer, so you’ll be able to walk away from the kitchen without much concern.

Pepper steak is the best type of meat for this recipe. It’s a cheaper cut, but it needs to be pounded well on each side before cooking. It’s imperative to use a meat pounding mallet.
Sprinkle each side of the meat lightly with salt and black pepper.

Put the flour in a wide flat dish and press each side of the meat into the flour. It should be lightly covered in flour; if ¼ cup of flour doesn’t do it, add another tablespoon of flour to the dish.

It’s easiest to cook this recipe in a stainless steel wide sauté pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add your choice of a neutral, high smoke point oil to a warm pan over medium heat. Allow the oil to heat until it’s shimmering, then brown each piece of meat for 2-3 minutes on each side; typically you will need to fry two batches per pound.

When the meat is browned, set it aside into another dish.

There will be brown bits of flour sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add an extra tablespoon of oil to the pan and stir in the onions. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan and stir all of the browned bits of flour and meat into the onions.

Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add the celery to the onions.

Stir well and sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Add 1 can of diced tomatoes. If there is any brown flour still on the bottom of the pan, the acidity of the tomatoes should release it so that it is mixed with the sauce. It’s just a small amount of flour, but it contributes to the texture of the sauce, which is on the light side.

Fill the empty tomato can with water and add to the pan.

Place the meat in a single layer into the vegetables.

Raise the heat on the burner so that it comes to a gentle boil.

Add the bay leaf if using.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, place the lid on the pan and reduce the heat to simmer for an hour.

The meat should be fork-tender when it’s ready to serve. If it feels tough, cook it for another 15 minutes, adding a little water to the pan if needed.

Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

This rewarms well so you can make it earlier in the day if you feel like getting dinner preparation out of the way.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.