A great meal doesn’t have to be expensive or a lot of work. She Who Must Be Obeyed picked up a one kilogram (two pound) blade steak on sale. Simply braising it and using the liquid to make a great onion gravy makes a meal fit for a king (ouch, or a queen).
The recipe is at the end of this post.
I wiped all excess moisture off the steak so it would brown better and cut it into 4 portions.
I preheated 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of oil in a ten inch fry pan over medium high heat. When it just started to smoke, I added the steaks and seared until browned on both sides.
I took the steaks out and added the second 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of oil and added the onions and reduced the heat to medium. I fried the onions for about 4 minutes until they just started picking up some colour.
I added the beef broth and soy sauce to the onions. I scraped the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and brought the liquid to a boil.
I added the steaks back to the pan with any juices that accumulated.
Cover the pan and reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
Skim off as much fat as possible. Take the steaks out of the liquid, set aside and keep warm.
Increase heat to medium and bring the liquid to a slow boil.
Put the flour and cold water in a container with a tight lid. Shake until well mixed and there are no lumps. Add to the liquid slowly while stirring.
Cook until thickened. Reduce heat to low and simmer for a few minutes to cook out the flour taste. Taste and add pepper to taste. You likely won’t need to add salt as the soy sauce is quite salty.
Serve the steaks with the gravy.
She Who Must Be Obeyed made a delicious vegetable stir fry which was served over rice.
The Verdict
This tastes as good as any dish you’d order in a fine restaurant but has few ingredients, requires little preparation and is made from an inexpensive cut of beef. What more could you ask for? Well seconds, maybe.
The Old Fat Guy
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram (2 pounds) blade steak (could also use chuck or bottom round)
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) oil
- 1/4 of a large onion, sliced
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) flour
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) cold water
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dry the surface of the steak with a paper towel.
- Cut the steak into four portions.
- Heat 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of the oil over medium high heat in a 10 inch fry pan until just starting to smoke.
- Brown the steaks on both sides.
- Remove steaks from fry pan and set aside.
- Add remaining 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of oil to pan and reduce heat to medium.
- Add onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, just until they start to colour.
- Add beef broth and soy sauce.
- Stir to scrape up all brown bits from bottom and bring to a boil.
- Add beef and cover the fry pan.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove beef and keep warm.
- Skim off as much fat as possible and increase the heat to medium.
- Put the flour and cold water in a container with a tight lid.
- Shake until mixed and there are no lumps.
- Slowly pour the flour mixture into the sauce while stirring.
- Cook until the gravy thickens. Lower the heat to low and cook for 3 or 4 more minutes to cook out the flour.
- Add pepper to taste. You likely won't need salt as the soy sauce has a high salt content.
- Serve the steaks with gravy on the side.
6 Responses
Looks delicious as always. It’s always better when you make your own gravy. I can’t wait to see the vegetable stir fry recipe!!
Sam
Thanks, Sam. I don’t think you’ll see a post on the stir fry. I asked She Who Must Be Obeyed for the recipe and she shrugged and said it was a bit of this and that with leftover vegetables.
This looks delicious!! I love homemade gravy 🙂
I might have to give it a try soon!! x
Thanks, Alex. This is one of those great easy recipes. I hope you enjoy it.
The Old Fat Guy
Shared to Welcome to My Kitchen on Facebook. Sounds and looks oh so good.
Thanks so much!