Cajun Smothered Steak 7

This is another one of those popular southern smothered steak dishes made from an inexpensive cut of meat. We slow simmer it for several hours. The result is a tender and tasty piece of beef that you could cut with spoon. It's a steak cu that just melts in your mouth.

The reason they call it a 7-Bone Steak is because it comes from the chuck section of the steer and it includes a cross cut of the shoulder blade. The bone ends up taking on the shape of a "7", which is how the steak got its name, and, despite it's name, it is not uncommon to find 7-Bone with the bone cut away, as a result you may find the cut slightly more expensive. sometimes called "center cut pot roast," 7-Bone Steak, like many cuts from the chuck, is often braised low and slow in a little liquid, this is a process that renders it tender as babies bottom and gives your smothered steak that fall effortlessly off the bone tenderness.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of 7-steak, or other braising steaks
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil or bacon drippings
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1/2 cup of chopped green bell pepper
• 1 whole green onion, sliced
• 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic
• 1 cup of beef stock or broth
• 2 (6 ounce) cans of mushroom steak sauce
• Palm full of dried parsley
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning
• Couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• Couple dashes of hot sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Slurry of cornstarch and water, optional

Instructions

Cut the meat into smaller serving sizes if desired and let it come to room temperature, at least 15 minutes. In a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed deep pot, heat the oil over medium high heat and brown the meat on both sides, just until lightly browned. Remove and set aside. In the drippings (add more oil if needed), saute the onion, bell pepper and green onion and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute; add the parsley.

Stir in the beef broth, mushroom sauce, parsley, Cajun seasoning, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Add steak to the pot, turning to coat, cover and simmer (do not boil!) for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until meat is fall off the fork tender.  Serve with juices as is, or use a slurry of one tablespoon of cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve. Remove meat and set aside, stir in the slurry, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Return steaks to gravy to coat or simply spoon over individual servings. Serve with homemade mashed potatoes or rice. 

~Cook's Notes~

Braising steaks are best for this dish. Braising is not recommended for top round (which is often just marked as "round,"), so if you use round steak, but sure to use an eye or bottom round steak for this dish. Other good braising steaks include chuck eye, chuck arm, mock tender, chuck tender steak and flat iron. Substitute about 1/2 cup of fresh, chopped parsley for the dried parsley if you prefer. If you can't find the mushroom steak sauce, substitute a can of cream of mushroom soup with a splash of Kitchen Bouquet and/or a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon beef in a pinch.

Crockpot: Prep everything as above. Transfer browned steaks to the crockpot and pour the sauteed veggies and sauce mixture on top. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Remove meat and pour off sauce into a saucepan to thicken gravy with slurry, if desired before adding to your smothered steak meal.