Sussex stewed steak

Both Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson describe this recipe, and Elisabeth Ayrton offers something similar in Time is of the Essence but not by name. The endorsement by that Great Triumvirate should make the dish a good bet, and it is. You need a cheap cut of beef, a dusting of flour and a little good liquid, nothing more. This is an easy dish with a beguiling flavor, and notwithstanding its humble ingredients makes an elegant and stress-free company dinner. We cannot improve on Mrs. Grigson’s instructions, so have simply adapted them to conform to our customary numbered sequence. 4-6 servings; good with some mushrooms and potatoes (see the notes)

Preheat the oven to 275º.

• a trimmed 2-2 ½ lb chuck or thick flank steak
• salt and pepper
• about 2 Tablespoons flour
• a large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons mushroom ketchup
• 3 oz tawny Port
• 3 oz stout

1. Season the meat and rub it all over with the flour.
2. Put it into a shallow ovenproof dish in which it can lie flat. Put the onion on top in an even layer.
3. Pour in the ketchup, port and stout and cover the dish with a tight-fitting lid of foil, and put it into the oven at 275, for 2 ½ hours. If your oven dish has a lid, place it over the foil.
4. Serve with mashed potatoes and a simple mushroom dish.

Notes:

-The source of this adaptation is Jane Grigson’s English Food (London 1974).

-Mrs. Ayrton’s variant omits the Port and uses ale or cider instead of stout. Porter is a good alternative for any of them in each of the three recipes.

-She also adds some carrot and, “if possible,” celery and a little brown sugar along with seasonings of bay and thyme, but also only “if possible.” Time in 1961, when a certain scarcity still lingered in Britain.

-Resist all temptation to increase the amount of liquid; it may seem scant but both the onion and the beef will throw off liquid during the cooking process and you do not want to dilute the rich sauce.

-Any port, including cheaper ruby, will do; we like the drier tones of tawny port.

-If you do not have any mushroom ketchup, substitute either malt or red wine vinegar, or a little less of one of the vinegars topped up with some Worcestershire.

-We add a drip of hot sauce to the basic recipe and sprinkle the sliced steak with minced parsley and green scallion tops.

-Fried mushrooms, sliced, quartered or whole, are delicious with the stewed steak.

For something fancier but by no means mandatory, choose one of the mushroom dishes from our recipes.

-The original recipe specifies a cooking time of 3 hours; we found that too long. Elizabeth David boosts the oven temperature to 290; that, too, is unnecessary.

-Both Mrs. David and Mrs. Grigson note that top round is a viable cut for this dish but we consider it less forgiving because a little more prone to dryness.

-Smashed potatoes are a nice alternative to traditional mash. Just take some redskin potatoes, halved or even quartered if large, and simmer them in salted water until they soften. Drain them, return them to the heat and add milk until it steams. Then stir in a generous plop of unsalted butter, a spooning of Dijon mustard and barely mash the mess before turning the smashed potatoes with a spoon and seasoning them with salt and white pepper.