It can certainly be heartbreaking when you shop all week for a weekend steak tip dinner, only to have your grilling rained out!
So, what is the best way to cook those steak tips indoors? Preheat a Dutch Oven on stove burner. Melt a pat of butter. Coat steak tips with flour, salt, and pepper. Brown tips on all sides. Add a little wine and water, and cover. Place on a back burner on low heat, and cook for 2-3 hours…
…but that’s the quick answer. Read on, to get the bigger picture.
I’m guessing that, like me, you don’t have one of those fancy indoor grills built into your countertop! Don’t worry, you don’t need one. Your steak tips will brown gently on the stovetop, while you play a rainy-day game of Monopoly with the kids, and everyone raves about the scent of brown, beefy goodness, filling your cozy home on that rainy day.
The Perfect Pot, Perfectly Affordable
If you’re a browned-beef lover, you should make the small investment in a Dutch Oven. Don’t worry, it’s just a big pot (and this beauty is American-made). For under $50, you’ll be assured perfect steak tips, pot roast, and much more, for life, and quality that will last for generations.
I’ve always called the below way of cooking “The Pot Roast Method,” but it’s formally known in as “braising,” according the the University of Nebraska:
Braising is a technique done by browning the meat on all sides in a heavy utensil. A small amount of water is added and then the meat is cooked until tender at a low temperature.”
University of Nebraska Extension
Steak Tip Perfection Later Needs a Good Start Now
If your tips are very wet, pat them dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Heat the Dutch Oven on the large stove burner, until it sizzles when a drop of water hits it. Melt a Tablespoon of butter on the bottom. You want it very hot; but if you see a trace of smoke, or the butter begins to brown, reduce the heat.
Don’t Forget to Put on a “Coat”
Coating your meat has two purposes. First, it creates a barrier to seal in the juices. It will help keep the juice in the meat, where it belongs; instead of in the pot, where it would interfere with browning.
Second, the coating, being mostly flour, contains sugars. Heat plus sugar equals caramelization (browning).
Mix 2-3 Tablespoons of flour with your favorite seasoning. Place this mixture into a 1-gallon plastic bag or a large container with a lid. Then, simply add your steak tips, shaking and turning, until they are coated.
Browning: First Key to Big Beef Flavor
Add the coated tips to the pot. Cover with a spatter screen. If you don’t have a screen, you can place the lid on, leaving it ajar by an inch or two, to release the steam.
Brown on at least two sides. This should take about five minutes per side, with the first side taking the longest.
Long Cooking: Second Key to Big Beef Flavor
Once the meat is brown, add 1/4 cup of liquid. I like a blend of strong red wine and water; but this is flexible. Whiskey would be good. Other options are brandy, vermouth, or your favorite vinegar. Be sure to cut it 1:1 with water, though, or it will evaporate too fast and the meat will burn.
Cover the pot, and move it to the smallest burner, applying fairly low heat. Sorry to sound squashy here; but if I turn my smallest burner all the way down, it emits a little unburned gas. This is unhealthy for people, and means there’s not enough flame to get the meat cooked.
The meat will be done in two hours. A little longer is better, but you may need to add another Tablespoon of water. More than three hours is too long – The meat will dry out.
Gravy: because you want it, you love it, and you need to clean the pot, anyway
Once the meat is finished, remove it to a serving plate, placing some foil over it until the moment it’s served.
What’s left at the bottom of the pot is cooking GOLD. A vintage advertisement for Armour’s Extract of Beef said it best:
It’s the flavor of all good soups, sauces, & beef tea. …”
The Armour Co.
(from the digital image collection, University of Buffalo)
(Beef tea? I’m all over that; but it’ll need to be another article…)
To make gravy:
- Put one cup of water into the Dutch Oven, and bring to a boil.
- Add one teaspoon of beef bouillon powder, some pepper, and a small bay leaf.
- Whisk together (in separate bowl) 1/2 cup of water and 3 Tablespoons of flour, removing all lumps. This is the secret to smooth gravy.
- Whisk the flour mixture into the pot, and turn the heat to low. Continue whisking, until it has thickened. Then, you can put it into a gravy boat, a dish with a ladle, or a small, heatproof pitcher.
Resources for Further Exploration
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