Cube Steak Fingers and Gravy

Breaded and fried crispy golden brown, country fried steak and gravy is a classic southern dish that is delicious for any meal of the day! These fingers are a fun spin on the classic and are simple to make.

This meal is pure comfort food! Cube steak is a flavorful cut of beef from the top or bottom sirloin or round near the rump of the cow that is generally tough. However, once run through the tenderizer or manually tenderized, it becomes really flavorful and tender when cooked properly.

The most common methods of cooking cube steak are sautéing, pan frying and braising. It’s often topped with gravy, simmered in gravy, deep fried or even eaten as a burger. These cube steak fingers are a spin on the classic country fried steak, and will certainly be a hit with your family and friends.

What You’ll Need

• Cube Steak
• Oil
• All Purpose Flour
• Paprika
• Tony Chachere’s Seasoning
• Eggs
• Buttermilk or Milk
• Butter or the Reserved Cooking Grease

Tools You’ll Need

• Large Skillet or Roasting Pan/Skillet
• Bowls for Dredging
• Whisk
• Meat Tenderizer or Mallot (if buying steak not pre-tenderized)

How to Make This Recipe

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Make sure there is enough oil so that it's evenly distributed throughout the pan—you'll need about ½ inch oil and the bottom of your pan for this recipe.
2. While the oil heats up, in a shallow bowl, combine flour and seasonings. In another shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk or milk. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture for the gravy. Working with 1-2 cube steak fingers at a time, dredge the fingers in the flour, then the buttermilk, and once again in the flour. Make sure this is a quick dredge on each side.
3. Fry the fingers until golden brown on each side, then remove from grease and set aside. It should take about 2-3 minutes per side to be cooked through and to achieve a golden outer crust. You may be tempted to cook the fingers longer than necessary in order to achieve a crunchy crust, but it's important not to overcook your meat. If your oil is heated properly before frying, they should be golden on the outside and tender/perfectly cooked in the middle.

4. If you want to make the gravy while the fingers are frying, use butter as your fat base for the gravy. If you like that rich and delicious flavor of gravy made from the steak fingers and can allow the fingers to rest in the oven, use the steak finger grease.
5. Whisk the reserved seasoned flour into the fat to make the roux. Stir in some of the milk until it’s a cohesive mixture. Once it begins to thicken, add a little more milk. Allow mixture to come to a light simmer then turn heat to medium-low. As the mixture thickens, add milk to desired consistency and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 3-5 minutes.
6. Serve the cube steak fingers along side a bowl of the gravy for dipping and your favorite sides.

Tips and Substitutions

• Use a skillet that is big enough to hold the fingers. A large skillet will allow you to cook all of your steaks at once, rather than crowding them in one small pan. You can work in batches if necessary.
• For best results, you will want the oil to be 350°F. If you don’t have a thermometer to verify, you can sprinkle in a small amount of flour to check if it’s ready. If it sizzles immediately, you’re good to go. If it sizzles then smokes quickly, it’s too hot. No sizzle, not hot enough.
• The safe internal temperature guideline for cooking beef is a minimum temperature of 145°F then resting 3 minutes. It’s important not to overcook the cube steak as it will become tough.
• If your grocery store doesn’t sell pre-tenderized cube steak, you can tenderize it yourself. Buy a round steak and pound it to ⅓ to ½-inch thickness.
• What to serve with Cube Steak Fingers and Gravy:
  • Corn
  • Green Beans
  • Steamed Broccoli
  • Roasted Carrots
  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Baked Potato
  • Cooked Cabbage
  • Kraut
  • Turnip or Collard Greens
  • Scrambled Eggs & Fruit for Breakfast

More Recipes Like This

• Laura Ashley's Kentucky Fried Chicken
• Oven Fried Chicken and GravySouthern Fried Pork Chops and Gravy
• Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
• Biscuits and Gravy

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Cube Steak Fingers and Gravy

Breaded and fried crispy golden brown, Cube Steak Fingers and Gravy is a fun spin on a classic southern dish delicious any time of day!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef

Servings: 6 Servings

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Cube Steak Fingers

• 1 ½-2 lb cube steak cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 cup oil for frying
• 1 ½-2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 ½ teaspoon Tony Chachere’s seasoning or other cajun seasoning
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk or milk

Gravy

• 3 tablespoon butter or oil from from frying
• 3 tablespoon reserved flour mixture
• 2-3 cups milk
• Salt/Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

Cube Steak Fingers

• Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high.
• Set up a dredging station with 2 bowls: Bowl 1: whisk together flour and seasonings; Bowl 2: whisk together eggs and buttermilk or milk. Set aside 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture for the gravy.
• Working with 1-2 steak fingers at a time on both sides, dip in the seasoned flour, the egg mixture, then put back into the flour.
• Once the oil is hot, fry the fingers 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown and an internal temperature of 145°F is reached. Cook in batches if necessary.
• Transfer to a cooling rack and hold in a warming oven while making the gravy.

Gravy

• In a medium skillet on medium-high, melt butter or use reserved grease from the cube steak fingers. Whisk in the reserved seasoned flour into the grease and cook 2-3 minutes. Add 1 cup of the milk to the mixture and whisk quickly. This initial mixture will thicken and cook quickly. Once well combined, add an additional cup of milk, and stir until well combined. Allow mixture to come to a light simmer then turn heat to low-medium. As the mixture thickens, add milk to desired consistency and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 3-5 minutes.

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