OVEN BARBECUE STEAK

I had big plans to barbecue outside today, and then Mother Nature decided to rain on us all day, I went for plan B (the oven). The outcome was not as good as grilling outdoors, but an excellent alternative, for sure. Cooking "low and slow" in the oven, gives you a steak more tender than you could ever get on a grill.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup beef broth (or water)
1 cup favorite barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon DRY mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 pound chuck steak (1" thick)

Cut the chuck steak apart, into serving size pieces (cutting out some of the obvious fat lines). Brown the meat in the olive oil until it gets a nice crusty brown surface, then put it in a 9x13 baking pan.

In the same pan you browned the meat in, saute the veggies until they wilt. Add the rest of the ingredients (not the meat) and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Pour sauce over meat and cover the baking pan with foil (tightly). bake at 300 degrees for 2 to 2½ hours or until "fall apart" tender. Thicken sauce if necessary.

NOTE:  It is VERY IMPORTANT to bake at 300° to get the MOST TENDER steak........anything higher than that, will not work.

NOTE: It is also VERY IMPORTANT to brown the meat well before you bake it to get the maximum flavor.