Dinners · Old-Fashioned Classics

Old-Fashioned Swiss Steak

Name: Old-Fashioned Swiss Steak
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 2 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 ¾ lb (1.2 kg) beef braising steak (topside or round), cut into 6 slices about 2 cm thick; ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour; 1½ tsp salt; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 3 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil; 2 onions, thickly sliced; 2 celery sticks, sliced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 × 400 g tins chopped tomatoes; 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 bay leaf; ½ tsp dried thyme; mashed potatoes or rice, to serve

G By Our Grannies' Kitchen Updated Jul 2026 4.8 (293 ratings)

4.8 / 5

6 servings

Tap + or − to scale every ingredient

Ingredients

Tick each one off as you go.

2 ¾ lb (1.2 kg) beef braising steak (topside or round), cut into 6 slices about 2 cm thick
½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour, seasoned with 1½ tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp beef dripping or vegetable oil, for browning
2 onions, thickly sliced, plus 2 celery sticks, sliced, and 2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 × 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
1 cup (250 ml) beef stock, plus 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sweet paprika, plus 1 bay leaf and ½ tsp dried thyme
mashed potatoes or rice, to serve

Method

Pound. Mix the flour, salt and pepper. Lay the steaks on a board, scatter half the flour over and pound it firmly into the meat with a mallet or rolling pin until it disappears and the slices are about 1 cm thick. Turn and repeat with the rest — use it all.
Brown. Oven to 325°F (160°C, fan 140°C). Heat the dripping in a large casserole and brown the steaks in batches, 3–4 minutes a side, until deeply crusted. Set aside.
Soften. Lower the heat; cook the onions and celery with a splash of the stock for 8–10 minutes, scraping up every browned bit. Stir in the garlic, paprika and tomato paste for the last minute.
Simmer. Add the tomatoes, remaining stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay and thyme; bring to a gentle simmer. Tuck the steaks back in under the sauce with any resting juices.
Braise. Cover and braise in the oven 1¾–2 hours, until a fork twists in with no resistance. If it still argues, back into the oven in 20-minute goes.
Serve. Skim any fat, fish out the bay leaf and taste the gravy for salt. Spoon steaks and plenty of tomato gravy over mashed potatoes or rice.

Granny's tip

Granny’s rule: if the fork argues, the steak isn’t done. Another half hour in the oven never hurt a Swiss steak — taking it out too soon always did.

Tips for fork-tender Swiss steak

Pound it in, don’t dust it on

Beat the seasoned flour into both sides until it disappears. It tenderizes the tough fibers and thickens the gravy from within — no cornstarch needed at the end.

Brown like you mean it

A deep mahogany crust on every steak is where the gravy’s flavor comes from. Brown in batches — a crowded pot steams the meat instead.

The fork is the only clock

Times are a guide. The steak is done when a fork slides in and twists without resistance — if it doesn’t, back into the oven it goes.

Questions, answered

What cut of beef is best for Swiss steak?

Round steak is the traditional cut — in Britain ask the butcher for topside, top rump or braising steak, sliced about 2 cm thick. You want a lean, inexpensive cut with plenty of connective tissue, because the pounding and the long braise are what make it tender. Avoid quick-cooking steaks like sirloin or rump steak, which turn dry and stringy braised.

Why is my Swiss steak tough?

It almost always just needs longer. Round steak stays stubbornly chewy until its collagen melts, then turns fork-tender quite suddenly — usually somewhere between 1¾ and 2½ hours at 325°F (160°C). If a fork doesn’t slide in and twist easily, cover the pot and return it to the oven in 20-minute goes. Kept under the gravy, it is very hard to overcook.

Can I make Swiss steak in a slow cooker?

Yes, and it is very forgiving. Pound the flour in and brown the steaks and soften the vegetables exactly as written — don’t skip the browning — then transfer everything to the slow cooker with only 150 ml stock, since nothing evaporates. Cook on Low for 7–8 hours or High for 4–5, until fork-tender, and season the gravy at the end.

What is the difference between Swiss steak and Salisbury steak?

Swiss steak is a whole slice of round steak, pounded with flour and braised slowly in a tomato gravy with onions and celery. Salisbury steak is a seasoned minced-beef patty, fried and served in a brown onion or mushroom gravy — no pounding, no tomatoes, and a much shorter cook. They come from the same thrifty tradition but are different dishes; we have a Salisbury steak recipe on the site as well.

From Granny's Pantry

The know-how behind this recipe: