Steak Sandwiches - Cook and Eat Meat

Cook and Eat Meat, hosted by Arfi at HomemadeS caught my eye as an interesting event, but I have to admit I worried it might be a considered un-pc by our society standards. I see from Arfi's profile, though, that she is not in North America and is probably not worried about the political correctness of steak. Cook and Eat Meat is a reminder to those of us who DO eat meat, especially women, that eating 100grams of lean meat each day will help raise and stabilize our iron levels. We raise our own beef and pork here on the farm so for the most part we eat a lot of meat. The recipe I chose for Cook and Eat Meat is the Steak Sandwich. This is a really simple steak sandwich, that Mr.Chef and I discovered on route to this steak sandwich from Pioneer Woman Cooks (an offshoot of Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, a fantastic blog). At any rate, we were making the actual sandwich and decided that even stopping halfway through it was really good (we did make the whole, official recipe right through the first time around). The original steak sandwich recipe calls for a cube steak, but I used a round steak that I tenderized myself with a meat mallet. A great exercise for anyone frustrated with life. In fact, the first time around I pounded the steak so thin you could practically see through it -- inspired by hyperactive boy, video game addicted boy, and half-monkey - half-toddler girl. Store-pounded steak would probably work just fine should you lack inspiration. But if you need the workout just let me know - the kids are available most days and evenings, and are excellent for graying hair as well. I will say here, though - real butter really does make a difference in this recipe. And if you're looking for heart healthy steak recipes - check out my london broil instead. Your arteries may just clog looking at this one.

Steak Sandwich 

serves 3 or 4 \

about 35 minutes, give or take 

Rolls (I prefer sesame seed buns, but any roll or wrap will work) 

Lots of butter 

For the Meat: 

2 lbs tenderized steak (round, flank, whatever) OR cube steak 

seasoning salt (like Lawry's) 

few dashes Worcestershire sauce (ie. Lea and Perrins) 

Slice the meat against the grain into long strips. Season generously with seasoning salt on all sides, and set aside. 

For the onions: 

1 tsp olive oil 

2 Tbsp butter 

1/2 large Vidalia onion (or other sweet onion) 

3 or 4 slices off of a large red onion (about 1/4 of the onion) 

6 oz mushrooms, sliced 

1/4 cup diced sweet pepper 

Pour the olive oil into a heated pan - cast iron works great, but anything will do. Melt the butter into the olive oil and add the onions. Cook the onions over medium heat, until they just start to go clear. Add the mushrooms and peppers, and cook until the onions start to caramelize (about 12 minutes).

 

Remove the onions from the pan, and turn the temperature up. Add 2 MORE Tbsp of butter to the hot pan and add the meat in in two batches. You want a single layer of meat or it won't cook properly. Let the meat sit in the pan for a minute or two, to make sure it browns nicely. Flip it over and cook for another minute or so on the other side. Season with a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perrins). Add the onion mixture back to the pan, and cook all together for a minute or two. Now, if you really want the full effect and you are feeling brave, add in another tablespoon of butter to the pan. You don't really have to add this but it does finish the sauce nicely. Serve on buttered, toasted sesame seed rolls, spooning some of the sauce over the beef and onions.

Comments

[arfi]

Megan, I had read many books of diet and nutritions and one of my references is a book of Rudolph Ballentine. He actually wrote about trimming meat and meat consciousness as what meat is best to consume. We have a farm and we mostly have meat and poultry from the farm. There are a lot of worries really to see how people raise their calves or cows. But here in New Zealand, cattles are grazed in open large paddocks and not crammed in one big shed. So, our beef is much healthier than any other's I suppose. I am not worried about beef here. Thank you for taking part on this event and I certainly learn more about meat from other countries.