# Minute Steaks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 11, 2026, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191 "2026-04-11T03:37:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/21 "2026-04-12T00:09:46Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > frozen with a pat of butter or margarine stuck on each steak I’d forgotten about that! > [@teelabrown](#): > > “Camp’s Buttered Beef Steaks”, which were sold in the 1970s in California. Is this the brand you are thinking of? Definitely the exact concept, but the packaging is unfamiliar to me. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/22 "2026-04-12T00:28:09Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > …“Camp’s Buttered Beef Steaks”, which were sold in the 1970s in California… That sparks a memory of my having something similar when I was growing up in San Diego in the 60s. My mom would use them to make quick and easy “burgers” for dinner sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/23 "2026-04-12T00:58:55Z")
A quick trademark search shows a brand of “sandwich-size beef steaks” called “Minute Menu Steaks” was trademarked in 1983 by the Miami Beef Company, but the trademark was canceled in 1984. Miami Beef still exists but it seems to be solely a supplier to retailers and foodservice companies. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/24 "2026-04-12T03:04:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Was there a frozen (?) product in the '70s called ‘Minute Steaks’? Yep, I used to eat them. Maybe that was not the exact name. Frozen in a pacl of four, with 4 patties of butter. > [@teelabrown](#): > > I’m from southern Caifornia; I remember them. They were a cut of cheap steak, probably from the round, mechanically tenderized, then frozen with a pat of butter or margarine stuck on each steak. I don’t remember the brand name. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/25 "2026-04-12T08:25:58Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Tricky to find but yeah I think the OP is looking for a similiar product. I just checked and Steak-umms are available at Walmart, at least. Maybe other stores as well. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/26 "2026-04-12T14:11:38Z")
Yeah, my Walmart sells out fast. Apparently they are real popular… Dollar General sometimes has them. I am a teensey bit skeeved out buying food in the DG. That’s a personal failing I’m working on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/27 "2026-04-12T14:24:40Z")
Some Canadian grocers sell relatively cheap (though pricey per pound) “Fast Fry” steaks meant for sandwiches, thinly cut and physically tenderized by some process that made them look like they were worked over with a potato masher, leaving criss-cross indentations. I always thought those were minute steaks, but AFAIK this is not a Canadian brand name. These are authentic meat (top sirloin?) and better quality than Steak-Umms. Whose name was parodied by Gaffigan: “is it steak?”/“Ummmmmmmm…” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/28 "2026-04-13T00:22:53Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > I remember Minutes Steaks as a brand here in Chicagoland. Same in Milwaukee, though my mom did nothing to make them more palatable. We would’ve loved some cheese or butter, but “making food fun” was not in Mom’s skill set. Not only were they pounded skinny with a grid of dimples from the process, they were rectangular (4x6" or so). ---
**Author:** ![Trieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Trieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trieste)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/29 "2026-04-13T00:49:50Z")
I’ve found them as “cube steaks” in the store. My wife covers them in flour and fries them. Then we cover them in beef gravy with sides. Not the best cut but filling…. T ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/30 "2026-04-13T00:59:20Z")
> [@Trieste](#): > > I’ve found them as “cube steaks” in the store. Cube steaks are different; thicker. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191/31 "2026-04-13T01:08:28Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Not only were they pounded skinny with a grid of dimples from the process, they were rectangular (4x6" or so). Those are exactly how I remember them. Sorry you didn’t get cheese… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minute-steaks/1029191.md?page=1)