Crockpot Swiss Steaks

I have a vague memory of my Grandma making Swiss steak when I was a kid. I remember her telling me how fancy it was because it was “Swiss.” Now, having actually lived in Switzerland, I don’t recall ever seeing Swiss steak on a menu. So naturally, I had to know where it came from. Off to Google I went…

Photo from Spend
with Pennies

Turns out, Swiss steak is American and the “Swiss” part refers to the way the meat is tenderized. Basically, it’s the technique used to turn a tougher cut of beef into something resembling cube steak. So, not nearly as fancy as Grandma made it sound. 

Apparently, I’ve made Swiss steak a handful of times over the years, and my reviews of those recipes are all over the place. Some I’ve liked, some I haven’t. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the recipe matters.

Unfortunately, this particular recipe didn’t do it for me.

It felt like it was missing some depth. Now, I do realize the blog I found this on is Spend with Pennies, which is all about doing more with less, so perhaps I should have expected this to be a pretty basic recipe. And it was. Basic isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, I just felt like it needed…more. More flavor, more depth, something to make me want to go back for another bite.

What I did really like were the carrots. I absolutely love carrots that have been slowly stewed in a beefy broth for a couple of hours. Those were tender, flavorful, and probably my favorite part of the whole dish.

So, the verdict? I think I like Swiss steak. I just need to find the right recipe.

Crockpot Swiss Steaks

Recipe from Spend With Pennies

Serves 4

• 1 ½ pounds round steak or cube steaks or minute steaks
• 2 carrots sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 rib celery sliced into 1-inch pieces
• ½ yellow onion sliced ½-inch
• 2 cloves garlic sliced
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce each) can diced tomatoes with juices
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• salt and black pepper to taste
• cornstarch optional, for thickening

Add sliced carrots, celery, onion, & garlic to the bottom of a slow cooker.

Pound steaks with a meat tenderizer to ¼ inch thickness and season with salt and pepper (cube steaks do not need to be pounded). Put flour in a shallow dish or plate and dredge each steak in the flour mixture.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and brown steaks on both sides, about 2 minutes per side adding more oil if needed.

In the same pan, add wine and scrape up any brown bits. Add to the slow cooker with remaining ingredients except for the cornstarch.

Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high or until steaks are fork tender.

Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles.