The American-American classic with a fork and sauce

I cannot speak for the Swiss as a whole, but my Swiss German ancestors – Portmanns who abandoned the second “N” during the First World War, after immigrating in the United States – people. My grandfather, Bill Portman, used to stuff free snacks in his coat pockets to give us later. It is not a section to imagine the dairy producers of my family tree while waiting and cook slow less the desirable cuts of their retired cows for the family dinner table.

That said, experts seem to suit that there is nothing Swiss about Swiss Steak, a classic of comforting food made by beating or needle a piece of difficult beef in the submission, then brainling it with the trend to fork in a tomato-and-oignon sauce. (The name probably comes from the term “Swiss”, referring to the mechanical smell.) Instead, the Swiss steak, popular throughout the Midwest, is more likely an example of American culinary ingenuity, popularized by brands like Hunt’s and Reynolds Wrap in the middle of the 20th century.

Anyway, it is part of my inheritance because it was a staple in our Lebanon, Ohio, Family Business, The Golden Lamb Inn, for decades.

Swiss Steak was mainly at home for my family father’s kitchen in the 1960s, when Joan Jones Portman, Bill’s wife, was the managing director of the hotel and the restaurant. She had grown up there, in an apartment which is now a private dining room, and she raised her family as her parents raised it – on the remains of the restaurant. Like many braisses, Swiss steak is even better when heated, making it an ideal take for an occupied family. With enough vegetables to build a full meal, he beat a television dinner.

Portmans were not the only ones used to it. “He has always sold well,” explains Nick Roudebush, the executive chief of the Golden Lamb today, who has existed for a long time – 17 years – that he was doing it when he was still on the menu. “It was up there with fried chicken and turkey dinner as one of the most popular dishes in the dining room.”

But as the menu was playing to accommodate a new generation of guests, Swiss Steak has become a victim. “It looked more like something that grandmother would make a restaurant dish – like the roast in a pot,” explains Roudebush.

I missed it. So I called Roudebush to talk about the basics.

The best beef cut for Swiss steak

The golden lamb used the eye of the round steaks, cut about a thick thick and cross a tenderness three times. When developing this recipe, I was tempted to use a cut with better marbry, like Chuck, for a serious version of Swiss Steak which is more forgiving and which does not dry so easily. But all the first recipes that I saw called for the round, and I did not want to abandon the Lean Cut Cup that this preparation was made. In addition, the sliced ​​chuck can collapse in a long breeze. It is supposed to be steakNo roast in dizzy pot. The circle is so difficult to start that it holds its shape until the end.

I tried to use upper and lower round steaks instead of the eye. The eye of the round has worked as well, and it is more visually attractive, with an oval shape that suggests a net.

You will I have to cry on it before putting it in the oven. “You can hardly pound it too much,” explains Roudebush, who recommends asking a butcher to wait for him (cube) or invest in a meat tenderness at home. One or the other will save you work, but you can get the right texture with a meat mallet and repressed assault.

Tomato and onion sauce required

Traditional Swiss steak must include a tomato and onion sauce. Many versions use tomatoes or diced tomatoes as can or dice, but the gilded lamb recipe only uses tomatoes stick– And I love it this way. The dough works as it does in a beef broth, adding a boost Umami and a certain sweetness without taking the dish in Sunday sauce or the vegetable stewing territory.

In my sauce, I complete the Umami flavor of the caramelized tomato paste with a tablespoon of soy sauce, replacing the kitchen bouquet in the original recipe (remember, it’s vintage) with a more attractive browning agent and flavor.

Many Swiss steaks recipes, including golden lambs, also include both carrots and celery. While the celery blends into the brosia with the onions, the carrot stands out, which I did not like, until I start to think about it as an integrated vegetable side. “The richness of the sauce and the tenderness of the meat obviously appeal to many people,” says Roudebush, “but there is something about these fork tension carrots that come out of the sauce that reminds me of my mother’s cuisine.” Rather than cutting or destroying the carrots finely, I chop them in circles the size of a baby to enjoy alongside the steak.

The Brosie

At an oven temperature of 325 ° F (165 ° C), the sauce must mount and maintain a temperature of 205–210 ° F (96–99 ° C) in your braised saucepan. In this range, the beef collagen slowly dissolves in gelatin, waiting for meat and enriching the sauce.

The steak must reach 210 ° F (99 ° C) after about an hour. Holding it there for another hour gives the connective tissue time to break down, offering a “steak” that cuts like meat bread. If your steak seems dry or hard after cooking, it can actually need more It’s time to cook. The most effective way to test that is with a fork, not a thermometer. You should be able to shred a piece with a minimum of effort. “It should be firm enough to hold its shape, but once you have put a fork there, it should be uningering,” explains Roudebush.

The end result is an American classic in the potted roast and the tradition of Salisbury’s steak, so comforting that Engle d’Or customers always require more than a decade after leaving the menu. Roudebush says that he plans to bring him back as a special this fall. With his help, he now has a permanent place in my home cooking repertoire.

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