Depending on where you are from, this could cubed steak or country fried steak. Either way you go, it’s a southern favorite. Not to be confused with chicken fried steak, country fried steak is soaked in buttermilk and then dredged in flour. Chicken fried steak goes through an egg wash and then has a flour coating; hence the “chicken” in the name. There is also another distinct difference in how country fried steak is served that could be the basis for a fight in some circles. That being if you choose to serve it with brown gravy, milk gravy, or none at all! Traditionally, chicken fried steak is served with a milk gravy and country fried steak (or cubed steak) is served with a brown gravy. Bonus points are awarded if you let the finished steaks simmer in the brown gravy for a while before serving. If you have onions in that brown gravy BEWARE, you may get asked to cook this over and over and over.

While shopping cuts of meat for this dish in the super market, you will look for a package of thin slices of beef rounds that look like they have been run through a waffle fry cutter. The meat will have tiny holes cut all in it when it is “cubed”. If you can’t find the pre tenderized cuts then you can ask a butcher to “cube the beef rounds” for you. This process uses a machine to chew the meat up and make it easier to cut with a fork later.

 

I store cuts of cubed steak in the freezer until the day I am ready to cook them. Allow the meat to thaw naturally without using the microwave if you can avoid it. The microwave can make the meat tough after it’s been through the cooking process.

 

Once you are ready to prepare country fried steak, soak the meat in buttermilk for at least thirty minutes to an hour prior to cooking. The buttermilk will tenderize the meat. If you haven’t picked up on it by now allow me to spell it out for you…this dish can be as tough as shoe leather if you don’t cook it right. It’s in your best interest to do all you can to work with this meat and not against it. It wasn’t too long ago that cooks would use the heavy bottom of a glass coke bottle to hammer out the meat and tenderize it before cooking!

 

I like to cut the cubed rounds into strips before soaking them in buttermilk. One pound of cubed steak rounds can feed a normal family a four if cut into strips. I’ve found that you may want piece as a second helping (or third) and cutting the rounds into strips helps by allowing people to get the perfect portion size for themselves.

 

I typically use self rising four when frying. If you do not have self rising flour then you can add one tablespoon of baking powder and one teaspoon of salt to plain all purpose flour and stir it together with a whisk to blend it all together. Seasoning your flour before you batter your cubed steak is essential! I like to add a minimum of one tablespoon Morton’s Nature Seasoning to my flour and stir it in well. Add more or less as you wish. Again, you do you. I have found it helpful to mix the flour in a large plastic zip close bag. This helps contain the mess, makes coating the meat easier, and creates less dirty dishes for faster clean up later. I have found the use of culinary tweezers keep my hands clean and do an amazing job of fishing the meat out of the buttermilk as well as out of the flour. Disposable gloves are also a great option.

 

I use canola oil for frying. You do you. I prefer to have at least an inch deep of oil in my pan. Heat the oil to 350 for best results. If you don’t have a thermometer to test the temp of your oil, there are a few things you can do to check for readiness. Does the oil appear to be moving in waves in the bottom of the pan? That shows heat is in the oil. Take a small pinch of flour and sprinkle it onto the surface of the oil. Did it sizzle and move? If it did then your oil is ready. If it floats there without any energy or falls to the bottom then it is not hot enough yet. It may need a little more time or a higher setting on the stove. My stove dial ranges from Low to high and increases by twos. I prefer to fry with my dial set between the 4 and 6 so the oil does not get too hot and burn the outside while the inside is raw. Yuck!

 

Once the oil is ready, the flour is seasoned, and the meat has been allowed to rest in the buttermilk for a while; it’s time to get busy. Pick up a piece of meat and hold it above the bowl to allow any extra to drip off and back into the bowl of meat, it’s ok to give it a light shake, then drop it into the seasoned flour. Depending on the size of your pan you can put four, five, or more pieces of buttermilk coated meat into the flour for coating all at the same time. Simply drop them in, seal the bag, and shake to coat. When you are ready, lift the meat out of the bag, make sure it has a nice coat of flour with no a bare spots, and gently ease it into the cooking oil in a motion that will end away from you to avoid splashing hot oil on yourself.

 

Allow the steaks to fry without bothering them too much until you see the edges beginning to brown. Once the edges are brown, gently move the meat to insure it is not stuck to the bottom and flip it over and away from you to cook the other side.

If it is stuck to the bottom of the pan, carefully slide a spatula under it (away from you) to release it from the pan. Then flip it over gently (away from you). After three minutes, check to make sure the meat is not stuck to the bottom again by gently moving it with your spatula or tongs and then lift it up slightly to check the color on the underneath.

When it is golden brown on both sides then it is ready to be removed from the pan. Drain your country fried steak on a wire rack or paper towels to remove access oil. Repeat this process until all the meat has been fried. You may want to make a pan of brown gravy to simmer the fried cutlets in for thirty minutes to create a fork tender country fried steak or serve it without gravy depending on what your family prefers. In my house, everyone loves gravy except Chris; so when I have time, I simmer ours in gravy but I leave his out and serve it to him hot and crispy.