Smothered Steak and Oven Rice

This is another one of my Southern Grandma's classics.  It's like Chicken Fried Steak with the gravy attached.  The oven rice is the perfect complement to this dish and it takes care of itself in the oven like the steak cooks.  My grandma always cooked rice in the oven in an enamelware pan she received as a wedding gift in the late 1940s.  I inherited the pan about 10 years ago and have used it to make this rice ever since. Choose whatever veggie you like to accompany this and you're set for a real southern feast.



Smothered Steak   (serves 3-4)

6-8 pieces of round or cube steak, tenderized, about 1 1/2 pounds.
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 cup, plus 2 tables spoons of all purpose flour, divided
2 cups of warm water
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Season the steak on both sides with salt and pepper.  Place the 1/2 cup of flour into a shallow bowl, large enough to dunk the steak pieces in. Season the flour with salt, pepper and garlic powder (about a 1/2 teaspoon each).  Dredge each piece of steak into the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.  Allow the steak to sit for 5 minutes while you heat the vegetable oil on high in a heavy skillet with a lid.

Fry the steak until just browned , about 3-4 minutes per side. Don't worry about cooking it all the way through.  Remove the steak to a clean plate.  Pour off some of the drippings, if necessary, so that about 2 tablespoons remain.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the 2 tablespoons of flour to the drippings.  Stir until the flour is cooked down to a light roux, about 1 minute.  Slowly add in the 2 cups of hot water and stir to prevent lumps.  Add a little more salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.  Place the steak pieces back in the pan in a single layer. 

Cover and simmer on medium to medium low for 30 minutes (this is where you want to put the rice in the oven), flipping the steak over half way through and stirring occasionally to keep it from separating.  Watch the heat, you want the sauce to bubble and get thick but you don't want it to burn.  Add more water and stir if it gets too thick. Serve with Oven Rice and a little move gravy on top.

Oven Rice  (Serves 4)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

1 cup of long grain white rice (not instant)
1 can of Campbell's Beef Consume' soup
1 can of Campbell's French Onion soup (you can drain out some/all of the onions if you don't like them)
1/2 stick of butter, plus a little extra to butter your pan
1 teaspoon of black pepper

Butter the bottoms and sides of an oven safe dish with a tight fitting lid. Add the rice, soups, and butter and stir to combine.  Place the lid on the pan and bake for 30 minutes.  Check to make sure the rice is fluffy and the liquid has been absorbed.  If not, put it back in the over for another 10 minutes.  If the rice is still hard but the liquid is gone, add 1/2 cup of water before you put it back in. 

Remove from the oven and stir to combine the bits of onion.  Enjoy!