Recipes

[sue-p]

Hello, Friends,

I am planning on buying round steak for a recipe that I want to make. I wonder whether to buy top round or bottom round. I would like to know how you would use each, over the other.

Thanks so much, sue-p

[chickenbutt]

Honestly, I never knew the difference. My guess would be, FWIW, top.

But one thing is, if you're going to use round steak, I hope it's a recipe where you either pound it out (big time!), or put it in the pressure cooker to make something like swiss steak.

Round steak is very lean and tough, otherwise.

[Jojo320]

Hi OP,

I hope you didn't go to the store yet. The bottom round muscles are tougher than the top round muscles. The top round is the most tender of the round cuts.

If you are going to use the bottom round, the best method of cooking is braising it. (sear with high temperature then cook it in some liquid for a long time)

[Nightowlz]

What are you planning on making? Top round would be more tender then the bottom round.

[sue-p]

I found an old recipe where I dredge the meat in seasoned flour, place it in a pyrex baking dish and cover with canned tomatoes and onion and bake, covered, at 350 degrees for as long as it takes to get tender. I guess it is a simple version of Swiss Steak. I don't have the exact recipe in front of me at this time but this is what I remember. It is actually very good.

Zhills posted a recipe in the Recipe Game that reminded me of my old recipe and I thought I would make it again or make hers. The store has round steak on sale this week, both top and bottom round, and I thought I would ask your advice.

Thanks to chickenbutt, Jojo320 and Nightowlz for your response.

BTW, chickenbutt, what does FWIW stand for?

[CatsyCline]

When I make a casserole with beef I use a cut for London broil - chuck or shoulder steak. I use this for stew as well. Round is a dense cut of meat and can be tough.

[goodstuff]

Top round is not quite as tough as bottom round......but neither wins a tenderness award! Oven-simmering it for a long time with tomatoes might do the trick. Your recipe doesn't call for cubed steak, does it? We southerners love country fried steak, which uses cubed round steak, which has been pounded with an instrument that breaks the muscle fibers in the meat to make it less tough.

Do you fry the floured steak in oil to brown it before putting it in the casserole with tomatoes and onion? I can't quite imagine raw steak dredged in flour and then put into a casserole with wet ingredients.......

[depglass]

Goodstuff, not being Southern, I guess I never learned to fry anything. I would add browning to the scenario in your head just to get some color, then put in with tomatoes, etc. Not fried to doneness.

[denisemb]

On 9/22/2014 sue-p said:

I found an old recipe where I dredge the meat in seasoned flour, place it in a pyrex baking dish and cover with canned tomatoes and onion and bake, covered, at 350 degrees for as long as it takes to get tender. I guess it is a simple version of Swiss Steak. I don't have the exact recipe in front of me at this time but this is what I remember. It is actually very good.

Zhills posted a recipe in the Recipe Game that reminded me of my old recipe and I thought I would make it again or make hers. The store has round steak on sale this week, both top and bottom round, and I thought I would ask your advice.

Thanks to chickenbutt, Jojo320 and Nightowlz for your response.

BTW, chickenbutt, what does FWIW stand for?

FWIW = For What It's Worth

Great, now you guys have me craving swiss steak. FWIW, in my version the steak is dredged in flour and browned before assembling the recipe.