This easy and delicious Swiss Steak combines beef that’s braised in a tomato sauce with carrots, onions, celery, and a hint of Worcestershire sauce. Since the recipe calls for top round, it’s budget-friendly making it a great choice when you’re looking for a hearty beef dish that doesn’t break the bank.
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Despite its name, Swiss Steak isn’t from Switzerland, rather it gets its name from the “swissing” technique used to tenderize the beef (using a Swissing tool). Since these tools can be hard to come by, I’m using a good old-fashioned meat mallet to flatten and tenderize the beef.
And speaking of tender, after braising in this delicious sauce, the beef becomes so tender, you need only a fork to eat it.
Serve with egg noodles, rice pilaf or roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a side of sauteed green beans and you’re all set!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Beef. Similar to steak pizzaiola in that you can use more expensive cuts of beef for swiss steak, such as sirloin or ribeye, but there is no need to! Use top round, bottom round, eye round, or chuck steaks.
- Stock. Use a low-sodium, or no-sodium beef stock for greater control over sodium levels. For best results, use homemade beef stock.
- Flour. The beef is dredged in all-purpose flour which helps create a better sear on the beef but also thickens the sauce. If you want a gluten-free dish, you can eliminate the flour.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Slice 2 pounds of top round into 4-6 equal size pieces and pound with a meat mallet to approximately 1/2-inch thick “steaks”. Chop 2 large onions, 3 ribs of celery, and 1 large carrot. Mince 5 cloves of garlic.
- Heat a large heavy pan to a touch higher than medium heat with 2 tablespoons of neutral oil. Pat the beef very dry and liberally season with salt and pepper on both sides. To a plate add 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and dredge the steaks in the flour, shaking to remove the excess.
- Add the steaks to the hot pan and sear until well browned on both sides, then remove and set on a plate. Work in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan.
- Add 3 tablespoons of neutral oil to the pan along with the onions, celery, carrot, and a pinch of salt and saute until the vegetables are very soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or until lightly golden and fragrant.
- Add 1 1/4 cups of no or low-sodium beef stock and bring to a boil while scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge any brown bits.
- After 2 minutes, add 1 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of coarse black pepper, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon of sugar to the pan and stir together. Bring the sauce to a lively simmer and taste test, then adjust salt and pepper.
- Add the steaks to the pan and cover with a lid. Cook over a low simmer until very tender, 90-120 minutes, and flip the steaks every 30 minutes to ensure even cooking. If the sauce starts to dry out during the braising process, add a few ounces of water or beef stock to the pan.
- Once the steaks are very tender, turn off the heat and taste test one more time, adjusting salt and pepper if needed. There will be a good amount of fat in the sauce that has risen to the top. If you like, you can spoon it out or use paper towels. Simply lay the paper towels on top of the sauce and lift. The fat will adhere to the paper towels. Top the swiss steak with minced parsley and serve with grated cheese and crusty bread to mop up the sauce.
Recipe tip
- Be sure to pound the meat thinly enough for best results. I recommend using the flat side of a meat mallet like this one. A few quick wacks with the textured side can be done as well. Placing the meat in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap makes for easier clean up, helps keep the mallet clean, and helps prevent the meat from splitting apart.
More beef recipes
If you love tender braised beef, give these other recipes a try!
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Swiss Steak
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (908g) top round
- 1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 tablespoons (75ml) neutral oil divided
- 2 large onions chopped
- 3 ribs celery chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes
- 1 1/4 cups (300ml) low-sodium beef stock plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon (13g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
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Instructions
- Slice the top round into 4 equal size pieces then pound with a meat mallet to approximately 1/2" thick.
- Heat a large heavy pan to a touch higher than medium heat with 2 tablespoons of neutral oil. Pat the steaks very dry and liberally season with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge the steaks into the flour and shake off the excess. Add the steaks to the hot pan and sear until well browned on both sides then remove the steaks to a plate.
- Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the onions, celery, carrot, and a pinch of salt. Saute until very soft (about 10-15 minutes) then add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or until lightly golden and fragrant.
- Add the beef stock and bring to a boil while scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge any brown bits. After 2 minutes, add the tomatoes, coarse black pepper, worcestershire sauce, and sugar to the pan and stir together. Bring the sauce to a lively simmer. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the steaks to the pan and cover with the lid. Cook over a low simmer until very tender (90-120 minutes). Flip the steaks every 30 minutes to ensure even cooking. If the sauce starts to dry out during the braising process, just add a few ounces of water to the pan.
- Once the steaks are very tender, turn off the heat and taste test one more time, adjusting salt and pepper if required. There will be a good amount of fat in the sauce that has risen to the top. If you like, you can spoon it out, or use paper towels. Simply lay the paper towels on top of the sauce and lift. The fat will adhere to the paper towels.
- Top with minced parsley and serve with grated cheese and crusty bread to mop up the amazing sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Bottom and eye of round along with chuck steaks all work well for this dish.
- The sauce can easily be doubled for egg noodles.
- Removing the fat can be accomplished in a few different ways. Laying paper towels on top of the sauce and discarding until the sauce no longer looks fatty is the quickest way to remove fat from a sauce like this. You can also skim the fat with a spoon or use multiple other methods.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and can be reheated on the stovetop or in the oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Is the sugar truly necessary?
Feel free to omit the sugar to suit your needs.
Cold this be cooked in a crock pot?
Yes, though not having tested it in a crockpot, we can’t advise on timing, etc.