Thursday, June 17, 2010

Cube Steak with Gravy

I have an amazing Mom.
She has really gone above and beyond the call of "Gramy" duty when it has come to helping the Hungry Hubby and I out with our new Hungry Baby.



She cooked; she cleaned (REALLY cleaned); she made sure I showered; and she forced my weepy, exhausted (after 48 hours of natural labor and a we-have-to-get-the-baby-out-NOW emergency situation with forceps) self to take several long naps.

She even made sure that we had food in our fridge. 

Not just "food" but high-quality basic ingredients (and you, dear reader, know how I am about quality). 

Namely, she stocked our freezer with beef.

and not just any beef.

My parents get this AMAZING beef from The Irvington Cattle Company, which is where my parents routinely invest in a side of beef. These guys really know how to raise a yummy cow. Their motto is even "You are what you eat eats."

Among the various cuts of meat we were so generously given, I found a couple packages marked "cube steak" - something I was aware of, but unfamiliar with. 
Growing up in the deep south, we never had "cube steak" like my Mom did in Massachusetts, we had "country fried steak" (or "chicken fried steak" as my school cafeteria served, where the beef was battered in corn flakes. The memory of those CFS days still sends shivers down my spine!) 

Needless to say, I was intimidated by the thought of cube steak in my fridge. 
However, not being one to back away from a culinary challenge, I did my research and steeled myself for possible disaster. 

When I announced to The Hungry Hubby my intention to make him cube steak with a white gravy he was so excited he couldn't contain himself. (I should have known. Although he is a bit of a picky eater, my dear husband is a sucker for good 'ole southern cooking.)

and even I liked it! 

For Cube Steak with Gravy, you will need: 
1 package of cube steak (roughly 1-1 1/2 pounds cube steak, or 4 pieces)
1 cup flour (I used Pamela's Gluten Free Baking Mix) plus 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour, separated
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Morton's salt
1 cup milk
vegetable oil

1. Pat steak dry with a paper towel (don't "wring it out", just get the extra meat juice off it)

2. Mix 1 cup flour with 1/2 of salt and pepper together in a bowl

3. Coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with a layer of vegetable oil (not too deep, you want the meat to be able to fry, but you don't want it to submerge in the oil.) Heat the oil to medium high.

3. Coat the cube steak in the flour mixture, making sure both sides are evenly coated. 

4. Once the oil is hot, gently lay the steaks in the oil, allowing the bottom of each steak to brown before you flip it. 

5. Once both sides are equally browned, remove the steaks and let them rest in a heatproof dish; take the oil off the heat. 

6. Add the remaining flour, pepper, and salt to the oil and all those brown bits in the bottom of the pan. Whisk together, then SLOWLY whisk in the milk. 

as the gravy cools, it will thicken. 

7. Return the steaks to the gravy, coating both sides with gravy. 
Serve with extra gravy poured over. 

The Hungry Hubby has requested this become a regular meal :-)

 

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