Round steak.... a cheap replacement for shoe leather

Ok so the title made you look! Growing up in our house good steak was rare (literally) in our household. We just couldn't afford it even then. Now days it's a big treat for us to have NY strip, Ribeye or even Flank steak. The Flank steak is simply because I can remember this being priced as a CHEAP piece of meat and now days they pass it off as a prime cut HA! I will be dadgummed if I'm going to pay $6lb for something I know should be more like$3lb! Ya still gotta beat the meanness out of it!

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I caught 2 nice big round steaks on deal and grabbed them up. Below is one of the recipes I used (last night) with a little flair I added to it. PLEASE REMEMBER the key to round steak is to let it simmer on very very low heat and slowly. Patience is very important with this cut. I usually let this cut simmer for about 2 hours.

SMOTHERED STEAK
(taken from Southern Living 1979 Annual Recipes and adjusted)
Pound the meanness out of 1 good size round steak (don't ask the size I don't remember and it really doesn't matter, they are all pretty good size). I usually cut it up into several pieces to fit into a large skillet. Dredge through seasoned flour (last night I used garlic powder, onion powder and McCormicks Montreal Steak grill seasoning, I got the McCormicks at Krogers yesterday for .25). Heat oil in large skillet on medium heat and brown meat on both sides.

Combine the following:
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (I shook in a bunch but didn't measure it)
Dash of hot sauce (the Montreal seasoning had a slight wang to it so I didn't add this, this time)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (again I just shook some in without measuring)
2 cups of water
About 2 tablespoons McCormick Montreal Steak seasoning - to replace this you could add black pepper, salt, more garlic and onion powder, minced onion perhaps, celery salt and so on.

Pour mixture over steak, and cover with a lid. When I say low I mean I put the heat on "simmer" and let this cook for 2 hours. If you try to push the heat up to speed things up you will only end up with something your dog won't chew on.

I added the sliced onion about 20 min. before the steak was done. This was about 1/2 of a good size sweet onion and you could use more or less. If you want your onion super tender then add shortly after starting to simmer or anytime there after. Taste the sauce about 1/2 hour before serving. If you feel like it needs a little more seasoning this is a good time to add it and it will be fine.

By the time the meat is ready to eat the flour/water mixture will have begun to make a bit of a thick sauce/gravy. If you would like more gravy add more water at the end then add a mixture of corn starch/smidgen of water and stir constantly. There is no set rule for this recipe. You could also replace the onion with sliced green pepper and it's yummy too! If you want to try this recipe but have questions please feel free to contact me! If you try it and you like it please come back and let me know!!!

I served this with mash potato's, whole corn (yes I mix my mash potato's and corn) and peas. My darling Art thought this was flat out delicious!