Books & Spoons Recipe for THE SAILOR'S STEAKS

We all have dishes and flavors, even scents that take us immediately back in time, flooding our minds with memories and past events. The Sailor's steak took me back to childhood Sundays when coming home from the church services this dish had been in the oven for hours and the scent of it and the marvelous taste of it was waiting for us. Good times.
The dish is in the oven several hours in lower temperatures and the tastes and aromas have time to develop and merge. It is one of those melt in your mouth dishes, and with ample amount pepper has a great subtle kick to it at the end. You can use beer even if cooking for a family with children, the alcohol evaporates as it cooks, but you can also substitute it with more broth. There are a great many things you could be added to this rather uncomplicated dish, but then we would have to come up with a new name since the original Sailor's streaks would cease to exist. 
This is a great meal to prepare on those cold winter days when you have the opportunity to let it cook for several hours in a dutch oven, or set it in your slow cooker and forget it until dinner time. And served with something colorful like pickled beets or shredded carrots, it will make a marvelous mealtime for you. 
I hope you enjoy it, until next time
~ Cheers!

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THE SAILOR'S STEAK

• 800 g / 1,7 lb beef sirloin steak
• Butter for frying the meat
• 4 large baking potatoes
• 1 red onion
• salt & ground black pepper
• 4 dl / 2 cups strong beef stock
• 3 dl / 1 cup of beer

1. Cut the meat into small steaks.
2. Slice the potatoes.
3. Slice the onions.
4. Heat the broth
5. Grease the casserole with butter.
6. Fry the steaks in a butter until they get a nice brown color 
7. Arrange sliced ​potatoes in the bottom of the pot and set a layer of onions on top. Add a couple of the steaks. Grind freshly ground black pepper on top and add a little salt. 
8. Fill the casserole in layers, finishing with the potatoes on the top.
9. Pour the broth and beer into the pot.
10. Lift the open casserole in the oven at 225C/440 F degrees for half an hour.
11. Then put the lid on and reduce the oven temperature to 150 C / 300 F degrees.
12. After two hours, it is good to take a peek into the pot and see that there's enough liquid. Move the ingredients gently off the sides to see the level of the liquid. If it is necessary to add more liquid, pour boiling water into the dish. Do not add too much of the liquid so it doesn't turn into a soup. 
13. Let the food cook for another hour or two.
14. Serve in layers, if possible, for the visual effect of the dish.