Louisiana Swiss Steak

Swiss steak is not from Switzerland. The art of "swissing" a steak refers to tenderizing it and slow cooking it with a modified braising technique to turn a cheap cut of meat into something tasty. Everyone has a family recipe for this floating around somewhere. I have a lot of different recipes for this but I decided to try something a little spicier. I was shopping today and I found some smoked paprika in the spice aisle.


I added some of that along with a little hot sauce and my favorite Greek seasoning.
I also decided to use a little of my homemade butter to brown the meat and saute the onion. In Louisiana, where they grow a lot of rice, I am told they serve Swiss steak over rice and thicken the sauce to make a gravy. I am told that they call it smothered steak down there. I decided to try it the Louisiana way for something a little different.

Louisiana Swiss Steak

Browning the Steak
1 pound round steak - very cheap
some flour
Cavender's Seasoning
butter
1/2 onion, diced

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat until nice and hot. Meanwhile sprinkle your steaks with Cavender's and then dredge in flour. After you have dredged in flour pound the meat with a tenderizing hammer until nice and thin. Dredge the steaks again in some flour. By now your pot should be hot. Drop some butter into the pan and let it melt. Sear the steaks on each side in the butter. Remove the steaks from the pot and set aside. Saute the onion in the drippings from the steak and butter. Return steaks to the pan after onions have softened.
The rest of the dish
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 T tomato paste
A few whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand either fresh or canned
1 1/2 cups beef broth, more if needed
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T soy sauce
2 t hot sauce
1 t smoked paprika
1 t ground oregano
1 t salt or more to taste
1 t black pepper

Add above ingredients to the Dutch oven, cover and bake at 325 for about 2 hours. Meat should be tender and falling apart.

Finishing touch
Stir 1 T corn starch into 1 T water. Add to pot and stir. Remove pot from oven and heat on the stove until sauce thickens. Serve over steamed rice.