Beefsteak Smothered In Onions(Filet Braise Aux Ognons)

3 pounds round steak

6 onions -- sliced fine

1 tablespoon lard

1 tablespoon flour

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 sprigs bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs parsley -- chopped

1 clove garlic

1 pint water

pepper and salt -- to taste

Beat the round steak well with the rolling pin or steak hammer; cut off the outer skin and press the meat back into shape. Place the lard in the deep frying pan and let it melt. Then lay in the sliced onions, and over these the beefsteak, which has been well seasoned with salt and pepper and dredged with the flour. Cover closely. Let it simmer over a hot fires for a few minutes and then turn the steak on the other side. After three minutes, add the vinegar, chopped parsley, thyme and bay leaf and a clove of garlic. Turn the steak, letting the flour brown well, and keep the pot closely covered. When brown pour over one cup of water, or a pint, which will be sufficient to cover the meat. Bring this to a brisk boil and set the pot back where it can simmer gently for about two hours.

This introduction precedes the recipe:

Smothered Steak (Filet Braise)

Braising or smothering meat is a mode of cooking little understood by the Americans, but which has been brought by the Creoles to a high state of perfection. By this process the meat is just covered, and no more, with a little water, or with a strong broth made form animal stock or the juices of vegetables. The pot is covered with a closely-fitting lid and is put on a slow fire and allowed to simmer slowly for two or three hours, just short of the boiling point. By this slow process of cooking, tough meats are rendered juicy, tender and very agreeable to the palate, while the covered pot enables the meat to retain all its flavor.

The great secret in smothering meat is to let it cook very slowly, simmering, however, all the time , so that the heat may thoroughly penetrate and render tender and juicy the coarse fiber of the meat. When tender, put the beefsteak into a platter, cover with the onions and gravy, and you will have a delicious and delicately flavored dish.

This is a Dover reprint, 1971, p. 81