Smothered Round Steak

4.73 from 40 votes

Cooked low and slow, this easy Smothered Round Steak with mushroom and onion gravy turns an affordable cut of beef into a tender, flavorful meal.

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword round steak in oven, round steak recipe, top round steak

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3 30

Total Time 3 40

Servings people

Calories 318kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Equipment

3.5-quart cast iron braiser pan

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ - 2 lbs. boneless beef round steak (I use top round steak)
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 ½ cups low-sodium beef broth, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dry onion soup mix (from a 1-ounce packet), such as Lipton brand
2 sprigs fresh thyme, about 3-4 inches long each
1 sprig fresh rosemary, about 5-6 inches long
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley or thyme

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°F.
Use a meat mallet to tenderize the meat by pounding to ½-inch thickness.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep braising skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, add the steak and cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium; add the butter to the drippings in the pan. When the butter melts, stir in the mushrooms and onion; cook until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Return the steaks and any juices to the pan. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over all. Tuck thyme and rosemary sprigs into the broth.
Cover and bake for 2 ½ - 3 hours, or until the meat is tender. Check the steaks once or twice during the cooking process, adding more broth to the pan if necessary. You want about ½ - ⅓ of the steaks submerged in the liquid for proper braising. If the steaks are still tough at the end of the cooking time, return the pan to the oven and continue baking.
Remove the meat from the pan and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Discard the herb sprigs.
To thicken the gravy, bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. If you’d like even more gravy in your pan, you can add more beef broth at this time. Add about half of the cornstarch slurry, whisking until the mixture thickens. If you’d like a thicker gravy, add the remaining cornstarch slurry (I find that I don’t usually need all of the cornstarch). To thin the gravy, add extra broth. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Slice the steaks thinly against the grain. Spoon the gravy over top and serve with mashed potatoes, noodles or rice. Garnish with chopped fresh herbs.

Video

Notes

Look for top round steak, if possible, since it's the most tender part of the round.
Brown the meat. This is an extra step, but it's worth the effort. The caramelized surface gives the beef extra flavor, while the browned bits and drippings in the pot add even more flavor to the gravy.
This is the 3.5-quart cast iron braiser that I use.
Use lower-sodium beef broth so that you can control the saltiness of the dish. The Worcestershire sauce and the onion soup mix both add salt to the dish as well. If it's not salty enough for your taste, you can always season with extra salt and pepper at the end.
If the pan is getting dry during the cooking process, add extra broth so that the meat is about ½ - ⅓ submerged in liquid. You can also add extra broth to the skillet at the very end if you'd like more gravy in your pan.
Add the cornstarch slurry slowly to the pan. Start with just half of the mixture, since that's likely all that you'll need to thicken the gravy.
If the meat is not tender at the end of the cooking time, return it to the oven. It probably just needs some extra time for those tough fibers to break down.
Thinly slice the meat against the grain (perpendicular to those long fibers that you see). It should be so tender that it practically falls apart!

Nutrition