Beef Steak and Onions
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut thick beefsteak (that which is not so tender will answer) in pieces ready to serve.
Put the beefsteak into a spider with a little hot water.
Slice three or four onions.
Stew and brown
Stew very slowly for several hours.
Let the water boil out and the meat become brown.
Stir flour into the fat that has come from the meat.
If there is too much fat, take some out and pour on boiling water.
Stir until the flour is cooked.
Serve
Pour the meat and gravy into a deep dish or platter and serve.
Bay leaves, obtainable at the druggists, are a good substitute for those who do not like onions; take the leaves out before sending to the table.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Beefsteak (in the method)
- Provides the main meat, which becomes tender and browned through slow stewing.
- Onions
- Soften during slow stewing and add sweetness and aroma to the gravy.
- Flour (in the method)
- Stirred into the meat fat to thicken the gravy as it cooks.
The step that matters
Stew very slowly for several hours. Low, slow heat breaks down connective tissue in less tender beef, making it tender, while gentle heat keeps the meat from toughening or drying out.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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