We ate lots of Swiss Steak growing up. It takes a rather inexpensive cut of meat and turns it into something delicious for your family. You can make this in the slow cooker or pressure cooker/Instant Pot. With little prep it will become your new go to favorite meal.

I remember eating lots of Swiss steak growing up. While I don’t remember exactly how we made it, I remember it tasting tender and packed with peppers and tomatoes. I’m sure we either put it in the slow cooker or put it in the stove top pressure cooker.

That was the scariest thing on the face of the earth; cooking a meal in the pressure cooker on the stove. There was a pot that locked. And you intentionally let pressure build up on that pot. The only way you could tell the pressure built up was the weight on the steam valve. Then there was the tricky business of putting the spoon under the weight at just the right position to release the pressure.

And how is that none of us got injured in this process?

Sometimes I’m a bit wary of my electric pressure cooker. It makes noises that make me think it’s gonna blow one of these days. But, it hasn’t yet. And I’m thankful for that.

Yes, I realize this is about slow cookers and not pressure cookers. But the mind goes where it wants to go sometimes. And since my pressure cooker and slow cooker are the same appliance, it’s only natural to think of both.

I don’t remember what cut of meat we used to make Swiss steak. It was something inexpensive, I’m sure. Maybe it was cube steak or round steak. Either way, I don’t ever remember swissing the steak.

Wait, you don’t know that Swiss Steak gets its name from the method of swissing the meat. You don’t know what swissing is? How could you NOT know what swissing is?

KIDDING!

I had no idea what swissing is or that Swiss steak gets its name from that tenderizing method. Basically, it’s a tenderizing method where you roll or pound the steak to make it tender. Then you braise it with tomatoes and peppers for my version of Swiss Steak.

Cube steak is sometimes called Swiss steak. It’s also run through a swissing machine to make it tender. So, you could easily use cube steak in this recipe. And I almost did use cube steak.

However, I remember our Swiss Steak being more roast like in nature and not cube steak like. The only time I remember using cube steak is for chicken fried steak. Or, as some might call it, country fried steak.

Of course, if you look for Swiss Steak on Google you’ll get lots of different types of recipes for Swiss steak. It’s quite confusing. My Swiss Steak is all about the meat braised in tomato gravy. Not the kind that’s in mushroom gravy, French onion gravy, or any other kind of gravy. To me those dishes have another name.

There are a few different ways to tenderize meat:

Pound it with that mallet looking pounder. This is great if you want to take out some pent up stress or frustrations from work (or kids or husbands or whatever).
Marinate it in tomato juice (or fruit juices, beer, coffee, tea, etc.). If you’re going this route, make sure to select something that will complement your final dish.
Soak the meat in baking soda water for 15 minutes. It raises the pH of the surface of the meat. This makes it difficult for proteins to excessive bonding which keeps meat tender.
Commercial meat tenderizers such as the McCormick meat tenderizer. No it’s not made with MSG. It’s made with bromelain which is an enzyme from pineapple..
Pierce it with a fork. This seems like it could also help with any stress you might have. This method is for those who imagine stabbing some people with a fork. I wouldn’t have any idea who those people would be…. (whistles innocently).
Buy a tenderizer tool with many sharp needles or blades to pierce the meat. I imagine this would be whole lot easier than using a fork, but similar in method. I kind of like this little guy here.
Slow cook or braise the meat in liquid. For some cuts, the longer you cook them, the better they taste. I believe this to be true for chuck roast or round steak.

This Swiss Steak recipe combines the slow cooking along with using tomatoes to tenderize the meat. Look at how tender and delicious that beef looks. The tomato gravy has lots of flavor with the herbs and spices. It’s enhanced by the peppers that leave their mark on this delicious dish.

Now, I initially planned on serving this over noodles. But we had noodles twice last week. I made an air fryer schnitzel style pork with haluski. Then later in the week I served up Swedish meatballs with noodles. So, I didn’t think noodles would be a good option for this dish and opted for rice instead.

Doesn’t that just look drool worthy??

I’m excited to have these leftovers for lunch and dinner and maybe make a sandwich out of them. For some reason, I am obsessed with putting everything between two slices of bread. Everything. I could eat sandwiches every day and never get tired of them.

This would make a rather interesting sandwich. It would be like a French dip but not. It would be a Swiss dip! Maybe top it with some Swiss cheese, too? Ooooh. That does sound delicious, doesn’t it?

This is comfort food at its finest. It’s also budget eating at it’s finest. You don’t have to use read and orange peppers. Green peppers are a total option and cheaper by almost a dollar sometimes. A can of tomatoes and crushed tomatoes is less than a dollar a piece. So, that’s $4 if you use two peppers.

Finally, it all comes down to the meat. Cube steak is about $6 a pound here which would feed a family of four. Since chuck roast was on sale for less the $5 a pound, I made this Swiss steak out of that cut of meat. Choose the cut of meat you know your family will like and will stand up to the low and slow cooking.

There’s quite a few delicious slow cooker recipes the rest of the bloggers shared this week. I hope you find some inspiration to bust our your slow cooker and make some dinner for your family.

Swiss Steak

Cook Time: 8 hours Total Time: 8 hours
We ate lots of Swiss Steak growing up. It takes a rather inexpensive cut of meat and turns it into something delicious for your family. You can make this in the slow cooker or pressure cooker/Instant Pot. With little prep it will become your new go to favorite meal.
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Ingredients

2 to 3 pound London broil (or round steak or chuck roast)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 bay leaves
3 cups sliced bell peppers
14 ounces diced tomatoes in juice
14 ounces crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place the London broil in the liner of a slow cooker. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves.
Scatter the bell pepper slices on top of the London broil.
Pour the diced tomatoes and the crushed tomatoes on top.
Cook on high 5 to 6 hours or low 8 to 9 hours. The roast will be fork tender and shred easily when ready.
Remove the roast and keep warm on a cutting board.
Turn the slow cooker to high.
Combine the water and the flour together and stir until combined making sure to remove any lumps. Pour the slurry into the slow cooker. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until thickened.
Slice the roast and return to the slow cooker. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles.