Any Easy Recipe That Turns Cubed Steak Into a Delicious Meal
If your grocery bill is getting out of hand, consider adding a few budget-friendly meats to your basket, such as cubed steak. The nice thing about cubed steak is that it cooks quickly, so you can have dinner on the table fast, which is always a plus when you're juggling work and mom life. But if you're looking for a way to dress this meat up, check out this Swiss steak recipe, flavored with tomatoes, onions and seasonings. The traditional recipe can be messy and take over an hour to prepare, but to save time, and the mess, make this dish in your Crock-Pot.
To make sure your cubed steak turns out tender, first quickly fry and brown the meat before putting it in the Crock-Pot.
Total Time: 8 to 9 hours | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 to 2 pounds cubed steak, cut into portions
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 large onion, cut into slices
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
- In a shallow container, mix together flour, garlic and paprika.
- Cover both sides of the cubed steak with the flour mixture, and put on a plate.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the cubed steak, and cook on both sides until browned, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Be careful not to overcook.
- In a 6-quart Crock-Pot, place your cooked cubed steak. Cover with the canned tomatoes and sliced onions, and season with the Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours, or until meat is fork-tender.
- Serve hot.
Serve your Swiss steak on a bed of mashed potatoes or rice to absorb the tomato gravy.
Tip
- To make this more of a one-pot dish, add quartered red potatoes with the skin on and chunky-cut carrots to the slow cooker. That way you won't need to cook an additional side. Diced peppers and celery also make a tasty addition to this recipe.
- Cubed steak doesn't start out as cubed steak. In fact, it gets its name from the distinctive square shape that's mechanically cut into the meat, which is responsible for breaking up the tough meat fibers to make it more tender. Any tough cut of meat can be made into cubed steak, including chuck or round steak. While you can buy premade cubed steak at the supermarket, you can also make your own by pounding your meat with a jagged-edged meat mallet.
References
Writer Bio
Jill Corleone is a registered dietitian and health coach who has been writing and lecturing on diet and health for more than 15 years. Her work has been featured on the Huffington Post, Diabetes Self-Management and in the book "Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation," edited by John R. Bach, M.D. Corleone holds a Bachelor of Science in nutrition.