Ok,... It's time to put away those knives! Beef Bottom Round is very inexpensive, which is great - but it's also a tough cut of meat. To avoid that, this dish gets braised in the oven for two hours, leaving you with delicious fork tender meat.

I have a large collection of recipes, that I've collected over the years. And almost always I change several things about the recipe to tailor it to my taste. Well this recipe aired on "Good Eats" (Alton Brown) and when I made it for the first time - I knew I couldn't change a thing. It was perfect!

I know many of you will make alteration to this recipe, as I do myself with many I come across. But the key ingredient to this dish, is "Smoked Paprika". And in my opinion, it shouldn't be made unless you have that spice in your pantry. It adds a delicious smoked flavor to this dish - making it very special.

Ingredients

• 2 lb. Beef Bottom Round, sliced into 1/2" slices (about 6 slices) (excess fat removed)
• Salt & Pepper
• 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Vegetable Oil
• 1 large Onion, sliced thin
• 2 stalks Celery, diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs. Tomato paste
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can Diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1 1/2 cups Beef Broth

Directions

1. Season meat slices with salt & pepper, then dredge both sides in the flour.
2. Stamp both sides of the meat with "The Blade Machine" (48-pin meat tenderizer). (You can purchase this item from my store. Link is below...)
3. Dredge each slice again in the flour.
4. In a 5 or 7 quart Dutch Oven (This can also be purchased from my store. Link is below...) add the vegetable oil and set the burner to medium high heat.
5. Cook each slice of meat in the oil, for about 2 minutes on each side. You will probably have to cook this in 3 batches. Remove and set aside.
6. And in the onion and celery and sauté until slightly golden brown. During the last minute, add in the minced garlic.
7. Add in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, smoked paprika & broth. Bring to a boil.
8. Add in your steaks, making sure to wiggle them down to the bottom of the Dutch oven - so that all the slices are meat are covered with sauce.
9. Put in your oven to braise, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 325 degrees. When the meat is fork tender, you are done.

Serves 6

• The Blade Machine from "Deni" (48-pin meat tenderizer) ($18.43): I have never been a fan of buying Cube Steak from my local meat market. Not only do I find the meat is still very tough, but you just don't know exactly what meat they are using. Cube Steak is often interweaved with several different cuts of meat - I call them "franken-steaks". Instead, I always purchase Beef Bottom Round, which is a very inexpensive cut of meat and tenderize it myself. Purchase this item here: Feed Me Delicious - Store

• Logic Dutch Oven with Loop Handles from "Lodge" (7-quart) ($39.96): This Dutch oven is made by Lodge, which is the most well known company making cast iron cookware. It comes pre-seasoned, and is great for cooking many dishes - especially anything that calls for being braised. You will love it! Purchase this item here: Feed Me Delicious - Store

• You can either slice the meat yourself into 1/2" slices, or ask your butcher to do it.
• There are three types of Smoked Paprika that I always see, "Sweet" - "Bittersweet" - "Hot".  But I prefer the Sweet Smoked Paprika.