How to Cook Bottom Round Steak in the Crock Pot or Oven

Bottom round steak and top round steak are cuts of beef that come from the rear end of the cow.

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Bottom round steak and top round steak are cuts of beef that come from the rear end of the cow. Both of these are fairly tough cuts, which can make them a bit challenging to cook. The easiest way to cook a juicy bottom round steak is through oven braising it or slow cooking it in a Crock Pot.

Tip

The easiest way to cook a juicy bottom round steak is through oven braising it or slow cooking it in a Crock Pot.

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Bottom Round Steak Cooking Methods

Top round and bottom round steak both come from an area of the cow that is low in fat. According to the USDA, 3 ounces of cooked bottom round steak has about 28 grams of protein and between 7.7 and 10.7 grams of fat.

The American Heart Association recommends reducing your saturated fat content, which means that bottom round steak is a particularly healthy choice compared to other cuts of red meat. The USDA also says that bottom round steak is a good source of essential nutrients like zinc, selenium and B-complex vitamins.

Unfortunately, there is a downside to the low fat content of this type of steak. Both top round and bottom round steaks can be tough and are consequently a bit challenging to cook.

Top round and bottom round steak are cut from a part of the cow that has a lot of muscle. Muscle takes longer than average time to break down when cooking. This is why you're likely to end up with a tough piece of meat if you choose to cook a top round steak on the grill or bottom round steak in a frying pan.

Instead, consider using wet heat to cook your bottom round steak. Wet heat, especially at lower temperatures, can help break down the collagen in the muscles of this steak. The result is juicy, tender and flavorful. Slow-cooked bottom round steak can be used to make dishes like beef stews, soups and shredded beef tacos.

Cooking Bottom Round Steak

Cooking bottom round steak in a Crock Pot is an easy way to slow cook this cut of meat. However, if you don't have a Crock Pot, you can also cook bottom round or top round steak in the oven.

To cook your bottom round steak, you'll need the following ingredients for every 2 pounds of steak:

Things You'll Need

8 ounces of onion soup
10 ounces of cream of mushroom soup
2 red onions, sliced
2 white onions, sliced
6 carrots, chopped into inch-sized pieces
4 large cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
8 ounces of baby button mushrooms
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/2 cup of bone broth
2 tablespoons of olive oil or avocado oil

Tip

If you don't want to make onion soup or mushroom soup from scratch, you can use a 10.5-ounce can of cream of mushroom soup and a 1.5-ounce package of dried onion soup mixed into water.

Step 1

If you're cooking your bottom round steak in an oven, preheat the oven to 325 F (163 C). If you're using a slow cooker, set it to low.

Step 2

Cut the steak into serving-sized pieces. Choosemyplate.gov, the USDA's website, recommends servings between 3 and 5 ounces.

Step 3

Season the steak with the garlic salt, and then brown it in a hot skillet. The avocado or olive oil will help it brown.

Step 4

Put your carrots on the bottom of the slow cooker, followed by the browned pieces of bottom round steak. If you're using the oven, put these ingredients into a baking dish.

Step 5

Cover the meat and carrots with the spices and garlic. Add the rest of the vegetables on top.

Step 6

Pour in the onion soup and mushroom soup. The entire mixture should be covered with liquid. You can top up the mixture with the bone broth as needed.

Step 7

Cook in the slow cooker on low for six hours. The meat should be tender and fall apart easily.

To cook in it in the oven, cover the baking dish with tinfoil. Make sure to poke small holes in the foil. Cook for two and a half hours. The USDA says that meat is safe to eat after it has reached an internal cooking temperature of 145 F (63 C).