Four whole braising steaks of about 200g each, browned two at a time and then cooked slowly in the oven with onion wedges. The recipe appears in both British Classics and Mums Still Know Best, word for word the same, and feeds four at 558 calories.
They call it a real old-school British classic and make a point about the cut. People often think of braising steak only for stews, but kept whole and cooked slowly it comes out full of flavour and really tender.
A low oven and a tight lid do the work here, 160°C for well over an hour. Nothing about this dish can be rushed at a higher temperature, because the heat has to break the beef down slowly rather than seize it.
Hairy Bikers Braised Steak with Gravy
Description
Braising steak needs browning first, two pieces at a time so the pan stays hot. Onion wedges and garlic follow in the same pan, then everything goes in the oven with stock, tomato purée, thyme and a bay leaf. Cornflour and mustard powder thicken the gravy at the end.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the oven: Preheat to 160°C, fan 140°C, gas 3. Trim any hard fat off the beef and season both sides with salt and plenty of black pepper.
- Brown the steaks: Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the steaks two at a time over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes each side until nicely browned, then move them to a large flameproof casserole dish. Add a little more oil between batches.
- Cook the onion: Return the pan to a lower heat, add the remaining oil and fry the onion gently for 5 minutes until softened and lightly browned, stirring regularly. Stir in the garlic for the last minute.
- Fill the dish: Add the onion and garlic to the casserole, pour over the stock and add the tomato purée, thyme and bay leaf. Stir well.
- Braise: Bring to the boil, put the lid on and cook in the oven for 1¼ to 1½ hours, until the beef is very tender.
- Thicken the gravy: Mix the cornflour and mustard powder in a small bowl with a tablespoon of cold water until smooth. Take the dish out of the oven, stir the mixture in, then put it on the hob over a medium-high heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the gravy is thickened and glossy.
- Serve: Divide the steaks between four warmed plates, spoon over the gravy and serve with chips.
FAQs
Mine was still tough after an hour and a half. What went wrong?
Probably nothing. The recipe gives 1¼ to 1½ hours, but plenty of people find braising steak needs longer, and cooks who have made this one report two to three hours before it gave in.
Braising steak varies a lot by thickness and by animal. Test it with a fork rather than watching the clock, and if it resists, put the lid back on and give it another half hour. It will not spoil.
Why keep the steaks whole?
Because that is the entire point of the dish. They say people often think of braising steak only for stews, and this is their argument against that.
Whole braised steak gives you something to cut into on the plate rather than cubes in a sauce. The trade-off is that it needs the full braise to become tender, since there is less surface area than diced beef.
Why brown only two at a time?
Because four steaks in one pan drops the temperature and they steam instead of browning. Two at a time keeps the pan hot enough to get colour on both sides in a couple of minutes.
Add a little more oil between batches, which the recipe asks for. The first pair will have taken most of it, and the onion still needs some to soften in afterwards.
Why add the cornflour at the end?
Because it only needs two or three minutes and it would break down over an hour and a half in the oven. Mixing it with cold water first is what stops it going lumpy.
The English mustard powder goes in with it, which is easy to miss. It is not there for heat, it sharpens the gravy against all that beef stock.
What should I serve with it?
Chips, and they are firm about it. Nothing like chips and good gravy, they say, and both books picture the braised steak and onions with a pile of them.
Mash works just as well if you would rather, since the gravy is the thing either way. Their oxtail stew is the other slow beef dish on the site, three hours on the hob with the fat skimmed cold, and their braised beef uses feather blade with red wine over four hours.
