Mar10: Tomato Steak

More fun with the needle tenderizer.

I was comparing beef prices at the supermarket.
Cube steak (my guess a cut from the Top Round) was $3.99 per pound.
The beef I'm using Bottom Round Roast was $2.49 per pound on-sale.

The Top Round is generally a little more tender than the Bottom Round, but both are considered "less tender" cuts of beef.

What I'm trying to say is that tenderizing will make tougher cuts of beef more palatable and is a good way to save money.

Tomato Steak... also, called Swiss Steak?

Swiss Steak
1 1/4 lb Beef, I used beef bottom round.
1/2 Onion, chopped
1/2 Bell Pepper, chopped
3 Stalks Celery, coarse chop
1/2 Carrot, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 can (14.5 ounces) Diced Tomatoes
1 C Beef Broth
Flour

1. Tenderize the beef.


2. Chop the veggies.


3. Lightly coat the beef with flour (Optional).


3. Lightly brown the beef in a skillet (about 2 minutes per side).
4. Transfer the beef to a Dutch oven and saute the veggies in the skillet.
5. Add the veggies, tomatoes and beef broth to the Dutch oven.


6. Bake in an oven 350F for about 1 hour.


I served with biscuits.


The Swiss steak was similar to a beef stew. A little more soupy which is fine by me. More juices for sopping with the biscuits. :-)

Mar 08: Chicken Fried Steak

I received a gift. A needle meat tenderizer. However, looking at the "needles", they seem more like little blades than needles.

There are many ways to tenderize tougher cuts of meat. There are chemical meat tenderizers or you can use mechanical force, such as, a mallet, cubing or using a needle tenderizer.

With mechanical force method, the objective is to shorten the tough meat fibers into easier to chew lengths.

The blades of the meat tenderizer.


I recently purchased a beef bottom round. The beef bottom round is classified as a less-tender cut of meat.

With the beef, I tried my hand a chicken fried steak.

Chicken Fried Steak
4 Slices Beef Bottom Round - taken off a roast about 3/8" thick
Seasoned Salt - I used Cajun Seasoned Salt
Flour
2 Eggs, beaten
Oil for deep frying

Take the meat tenderizer and poke both sides of the meat. Go over a few times.

Left piece was just flattened with a mallet while the steak on the right was tenderized.


A fully tenderized steak.


For flouring the meat, the typical steps are taken.
1. Season the beef.
2. Lightly flour the beef and shake off the excess.
3. Dip in the beaten egg
4. Dip in the flour again for the final coating.

Fry about 3 minutes per side.


The finished Chicken fried steak.


Actually, you have to have gravy... Now it's finished. :)


The needle tenderizer worked like a charm. Of course, the tenderizer won't convert the less tender cut into a filet mignon, but does make for a tasty steak. :)