Red wine, beef stock or even water will work when deglazing a pan. Choose something that you like the taste of. Red wine will add some extra richness, beef stock will complement the flavor of the meat, and water will let you add your own flavors. Try combining different liquids for a more complex flavor. If you want to add any vegetables to the meal, you should do so before deglazing the pan. Cut your vegetables into bite-sized pieces and cook them until soft and aromatic. Peppers, mushrooms, onion, and carrot would all make great additions,
Add any aromatics you want to infuse with your steak at this point. Bay leaves, orange peel, or garlic could all be great additions.
You can also leave your steak to simmer in the oven rather than on the stovetop. Heat your oven to around 350 °F (177 °C), cover the top of your Dutch oven and leave it to cook for around 2 hours.
The time it takes to cook your round steak will vary based on the cut and how thick it is. After the first hour, check your steak every 30 minutes or so until it is done.
For extra flavor, reduce the cooking liquid down further to turn it into a delicious sauce that can accompany your steak. Cook it over a high temperature until the sauce reduces, or add cornstarch to thicken it to your desired consistency.
Instead of parchment paper, you could also use clingfilm or a clean plastic bag to cover your steak. Anything that will prevent the meat from directly touching another surface and that can be removed easily will work great.
If you don’t have a meat mallet or tenderizer, you can use a flat skillet, a rolling pin, or even a sturdy roll of tin foil. You don’t need to completely flatten your steak or spend a long time tenderizing it. Start at one end of the steak and slowly work down to the other end, hitting all parts of the meat with the mallet. Work back up the steak once more to make it tender without overworking it.
As you have tenderized the meat and slightly flattened it in the process, the steak shouldn’t take long to cook. Give it 2-3 minutes on either side, keeping a close eye on it as it cooks.
Use a coarse salt, such as kosher or a coarse sea salt to salt your steak. Table salt or something similar will be more difficult to remove from the steak and will make your steak too salty.
The salt will draw out some of the moisture in the steak, concentrating the flavor of the meat and curing it slightly before you cook it. [13] X Research source
Don’t let the steak sit for too much longer than it needs to. If you leave it for too long, you may cure your steak rather than tenderizing it, which will change the texture.
When seasoning your steak, you shouldn’t add any more salt. There will be enough salt residue on the steak to flavor it and any extra may leave you with a very salty steak.
If you don’t have a blender, you can make your marinade in a small bowl. Make sure you cut all of your ingredients very finely and mix them together well.
The most important part of the vinegar in this context is its acidity, so you can use anything acidic in its place. The juice of a lemon or lime could also work fantastically and provide a slightly fresher flavor.
If you are using a blender, you don’t need to cut up the herbs or garlic as they will be finely chopped as the marinade is blended. If you are working by hand, mince the garlic and chop any herbs you want to add very finely. The flavors you add to your marinade are entirely up to you. Garlic, rosemary, thyme, paprika, and red pepper will all go great with a classic steak. See what other flavor combinations you can come up with!
If you do not have or don’t want to use a zip-lock bag, you can put your steak in a small bowl and cover it with the marinade. You may need to turn the steak over as you let it marinate to make sure all sides are evenly coated.
You can leave your steak in the marinade for longer to give it more flavor. However, if left too long, the acid will break down the steak too much and ruin the structure of it. Don’t leave the steak marinating for more than 6 hours.
Once you are done with the marinade, you should immediately dispose of it. Seal the ziplock bag and throw it away.
