First of all, what is cube steak? Does it come from cube cows? What part of the cow does it come from, and how does it get that interesting texture?
Secondly, what are some good recipes for it? All I’ve come up with is to dredge it in flour and pan fry it.
Cube steak is tenderized and the “cubey” texture comes from an automatic tenderizer (basically the same as pounding it with a mallet).
The best two ways I would suggest to prepare them would be to chicken fry them or to make steak sandwiches. If you chicken fry them, don’t just dredge hem once, but soak them in buttermilk overnight, then dredge them in seasoned flour, an eggwash and more flour. For steak sandwiches, just fry them up in a pan with whatever seasonings you like, plus some onions, mushrooms, and peppers. serve on a hoagie.
I use it for beef stew, yum.
Yummmmm chicken fried steak; that is exactly what I use cube steaks for! I second the double-dredging technique, though I haven’t soked them overnight before (usually because I’m craving it right then). After the steaks are done, drain off all but a tablespoon of the fat, heat up the pan and scrape up the tasty bits. Add a tablespoon of cornstarch to about a half cup of milk, stir well and slowly add to the hot pan scratchings. Stir well and consistantly until the gravy is as thick as you like it. Be sure to season with plenty of pepper. Yum!
I wouldn’t use them for cheesesteaks but that’s only because I grew up just outside Philadelphia, thus I am spoiled.
A really easy , yummy way to fix 'em is to cut up an onion into sliced , and spread half in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Put half a can of Italian style diced tomatoes (with garlic. oregano & basil in it) over the onions , the cube steak over that , them the rest of the opnion & other half of the tomatoes. Bake at 350* for about an hour . They come out tender and delish !
I just made a stir-fry with cut up cube steak. But I’ll make a stir fry out of pretty much any protein-based lifeform. My dog hides when I get out the soy sauce.
Take a cube steak and a couple of slices of whole wheat bread (toasted, of course). Put peppercorn dressing on one slice and a couple of pieces of American cheese on the other. You’ll get a fantastic sandwich.
Chicken fry, chicken fry, chicken fry! With yummy cream gravy. Double dip egg and flour. Remember a goodly amount of pepper. Use bacon grease to fry.
Then die immediately from a massive heart attack.
What to do with cube steak? When made by my dearly departed mother, the only thing to do with it was chew a little, then asked to be excused to go to the bathroom, and spit it down the toilet.
I swear, I haven’t eaten any kind of steak for years, and that aversion may have it roots in my mom’s cooking skills, or lack of thereof.
Another chicken fry vote here! Sprinkle 'em with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, then beaten egg, then finely mashed saltine crackers. Let set for 15-20 minutes. Then throw 'em in a skillet, using half butter and half veg. oil for frying. Make the roux for the gravy with the leftover squished saltines. That’s how my Momma taught me and I’ve never had a complaint :D.
Traditionally, in my household we have used cube steak for either Salisbury Steak or Swiss Steak.
Mostly I chicken-fry cube steak, but my mom used to make Beef RollUps with it once in a while. She probably got the recipe out of a magzine, or off a Stove Top stuffing box. Basically, you make up a box of Stove Top Stuffing (or you could make ‘real’ breadcrumb stuffing, if you want), put a spoonful on each steak and, well, roll it up. Secure the rollup with a toothpick. Roll 'em in flour, salt and pepper and brown 'em in a skillet. Once they’re brown all over, dump in a can of mushroom soup thinned with a little milk and let it simmer 'til it’s done. No gourmet recipe, but it tastes pretty good.
Smothered steak. Dredge in flour, brown on both sides. Remove to a plate, then saute some sliced onions and mushrooms in the drippings. Add the meat back in, and pour a jar of gravy over all and simmer for a while. Serve with mashed potatoes. (Alternately, you could make your own gravy after sauteing the onions. But I like the taste of jarred brown gravy, and it’s so easy!)
I also make pepper steak with cube steak. Stir fry the cut up meat, then add in green peppers and onions and mushrooms. Pour beef broth into the pan to deglaze it. Thicken the sauce by mixing 1 tbs corn starch with a tiny bit of water, then stir into the pan. Serve over rice.
Basically, anything you can make with steak you can use cube steak instead.