Adobe Steak

A braise dressed as a steak: round is a lean, tough cut that needs the full time in liquid, and the flour pounded into it does double duty as tenderizer and thickener.

• Pounding the flour inUse a meat mallet or the edge of a saucer to drive the half cup of flour into both faces of the steak. This is the hinge of the dish — it breaks the muscle fibers and gives the gravy its body, so do not simply dredge and move on.
• QuantitiesThe steak is three pounds cut about an inch and a half thick, and the braise runs about an hour and a half. Cut the meat into serving pieces before browning if your pot will not hold it flat.
• Browning"Brown in fat" would most likely have been lard, bacon drippings or shortening. Two or three tablespoons of any neutral oil works; get the pot hot and do the meat in batches so the flour crust colors rather than steams.
• Tomato sauceA small can is generally about 8 ounces of tomato sauce. Modern jarred pasta sauces are sweetened and herbed and will change the dish.
• Chili powderOne tablespoon of American chili powder — the blend with cumin and oregano in it, not pure ground chile. Bloom it in the fat for a few seconds after the onion softens rather than dropping it into the water.
• Heat and doneness"Very slowly" means a bare simmer, barely a shiver at the surface. If the meat still resists at the end of the cooking time, keep going rather than raising the heat.
• Dutch oven over coalsIf you are cooking this outdoors over coals, set the oven on a shallow bed with only a few on the lid — this is a simmer, not a bake, and the bed will need refreshing as it burns down.
• YieldThree pounds of round serves six generously. The gravy wants rice, biscuits or fried potatoes under it.