Swiss Steak Recipe (Smothered Steak)
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This delicious, easy-to-make Swiss steak recipe with slow-braised beef in tomatoes and vegetables is the ultimate comfort food. You will be blown away by the simplicity of this dish and the amazing flavors it has.
I don’t eat meat too often these days, but if I do, I make sure it’s loaded with flavor. If you’re similar to me, check out my Steak au Poivre or Salisbury Steak.
Swiss Steak
Swiss steak is an English dish consisting of sliced beef that is tenderized using a mallet or a Swissing tool that is then coated in flour and browned before braising with tomatoes, stock, onions, celery, and carrots. This dish is also sometimes called smothered steak.
You will occasionally see variations of this recipe as it relates to the braising liquid. Some people add in the mushrooms or bell peppers, while others use additional root vegetables. Lastly, there are some recipes calling for dry herbs such as oregano or thyme. I believe if you are still to the basics of this recipe and utilizing fundamental cooking techniques, there’s no need to add anything additional.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Beef – The two classic cuts of beef to use are round or chuck steak. I used top round.
- Stock – You will need some beef stock for braising.
- Onions – Feel free to use yellow, white, or sweet onions in this recipe.
- Celery – A few ribs of celery are traditionally used in the braising sauce.
- Carrots – Some large slices of carrots add an incredible amount of flavor to the dish.
- Tomatoes – I used canned, hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes in this Swiss steak. However, you can use canned diced, or large diced fresh tomatoes.
- Garlic – A few garlic cloves will add a lot of flavor to this.
- Flour – Some all-purpose flour is used to coat the steaks before searing.
- Parsley – I used some finely minced Italian flat-leaf parsley for garnish in this Swiss steak.
- Fat – You can use olive oil, avocado oil, clarified butter, or beef tallow to sear the beef and sauté the vegetables in.
- Seasoning – I used coarse salt, fresh cracked pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
How to Make Swiss Steak
Start by cutting the steak into 4 individual pieces that are roughly 8 ounces each. If you want smaller pieces of steak, cut each 8-ounce piece in half again so that there are 8 4-ounce pieces.
Place the swissed steaks into a plastic zip bag and pound using a mallet until it is about a ¼” to ½” thick.
Set the steak on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and generously season on both sides with salt and pepper.
In the meantime, prepare the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic.
In a wide shallow bowl or a 9” cake tin, mix together the flour and salt.
Dredge the steak on both sides in the flour and place them back on the sheet tray with parchment paper.
Next, head the oil in a large 6-quart rondeau or sauce pot over high heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
Add the steak, turn the heat to medium, and sear for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until well browned on both sides. You may need to do this in batches.
Set the steak to the side on a plate, and then add the onions to the pot and lightly caramelize over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes while occasionally stirring.
Once browned, add in the celery and carrots and sauté for medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until they begin to lightly brown.
Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 to 45 seconds or until fragrant. Season with vegetables with salt.
Deglaze with beef stock and add in the hand-crushed, whole-peeled tomatoes.
Season with Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.
Add back in the steak, cover the pot, and cook over low heat for 2 to 2 hours and 15 minutes or until steak is fork tender.
Garnish with finely minced parsley and serve.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: This is meant to be eaten once it is finished cooking. However, you can keep it warm over very low simmering heat for up to 1 hour before serving.
How to Store: Cover and store the Swiss steak in the sauce in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can cover it and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of steaks to a rondeau or saucepot along with some of the sauce and cover and heat over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until warm.
Chef Notes + Tips
- Other vegetables you can add to the recipe are parsnips, turnips, celeriac root, mushrooms, or bell peppers.
- The other option is cooking it in the oven at 325° for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
- You can skip the beef tenderizing by purchasing cubed steak from your butcher or grocery store.
- You can add in the juice from the canned tomatoes, but I did not.
More Steak Recipes
Video
Swiss Steak Recipe (Smothered Steak)
Ingredients
- 2 pound top round steak
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 peeled thickly sliced yellow onions
- 5 thickly sliced ribs of celery
- 1 large peeled cut in half thickly sliced carrot
- 4 finely minced garlic cloves
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, no juice
- 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by cutting the steak into 4 individual pieces that are roughly 8 ounces each. If you want smaller pieces of steak, cut each 8-ounce piece in half again so there are 8 4-ounce pieces.
- Place the swissed steaks into a plastic zip bag and pound using a mallet until it is about a ¼” to ½” thick.
- Set the steak on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and generously season on both sides with salt and pepper.
- In the meantime, prepare the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic.
- In a wide shallow bowl or a 9” cake tin, mix together the flour and salt.
- Dredge the steak on both sides in the flour and place them back on the sheet tray with parchment paper.
- Next, head the oil in a large 6-quart rondeau or sauce pot over high heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
- Add the steak, turn the heat down to medium, and sear for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until well browned on both sides. You may need to do this in batches.
- Set the steak to the side on a plate, and then add the onions to the pot and lightly caramelize over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes while occasionally stirring.
- Once browned, add in the celery and carrots and sauté for medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until they begin to lightly brown.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 to 45 seconds or until fragrant-season with vegetables with salt.
- Deglaze with beef stock and add in the hand-crushed whole peeled tomatoes.
- Season with Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper.
- Add back in the steak, cover the pot, and cook over low heat for 2 to 2 hours and 15 minutes or until steak is fork tender.
- Garnish with optional finely minced parsley and serve.
Husband has never had Swiss steak before, but I grew up eating it. Followed the recipe as written except I did add the tomato juice. This recipe is amazing and my husband said it’s absolutely a keeper. Thank you Chef for all the wonderful recipes.
Thank you for giving it a shot!
Many years ago, my father made this recipe for Sunday Dinners My sister, brother, and I did not like meat that well, but we looked forward to Sunday dinners when we would have that. Thank you for that wonderful memory and I am going to get out the pan and tools I need in the kitchen and make this again.
Love hearing this — food and family memories go hand in hand. So glad this recipe brought that back for you.
Going to try this version soon. Used to make something similar, using a cut of meat that had a round bone in the mid-center, but it was more tomato-based. Added onions, carrots, celery, and the meat, allowing it to simmer for hours in an electric fry pan. Still have the pan; might reinvent this, and that version, when it cools off here in the midwest.
I love how food brings back great memories! Thanks for giving this recipe a try.