Swiss Steak

Dan told me he NEEDED this recipe. I told him his wish was my command.
One call to Mom later...

SWISS STEAK
1 round steak, 2 to 3 pounds
seasoned flour (add some salt, pepper and garlic powder to about a half-cup of flour)
2 T. oil
2 or 3 onions, coarsely chopped
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1-2 bay leaves

Cut round steak into serving-sized pieces and dredge both sides in seasoned flour. In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil until it is hot. Add pieces of steak, browning well on both sides. After all pieces are browned, spread onions over the steak in the pan. Add water (enough to barely cover the meat), the soup mix and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer, cover and cook for 1½ to 2 hours or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the skillet (and adding extra water if necessary).

[It has been my sad experience that if you keep on cooking after the meat is tender, you will end up with what Curtis calls "Swiss," since the steak sorta breaks up and disappears into the gravy. Don't let this happen to you.]

To serve, transfer the meat and onions to a serving bowl, thicken the pan juices to make gravy (a little cornstarch and water works well) and pour the gravy over the meat. Goes well with mashed potatoes and a cooked green veggie.

Variation: This recipe makes Swiss steak with brown gravy. If you want Swiss steak with red gravy, substitute some of the volume of the water with a can of plain diced tomatoes.

Probably serves 6, because most of our family recipes serve 6.

Contributor: Karin Buck