Dawnvisage’s Tender Fried Cubed Steak
Package of cube steak -
doesn't matter how much
Veggie/Canola oil
1 or 2 tubes of Ritz
Crackers (MUST BE RITZ!!)
Basic cooking spices to
taste (I use salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
If you have kids, this
is the part you make them do. Start with one tube of Ritz crackers and
put them in a ziploc baggie (gallon size). Squish them up until they
are tiny little crumbs. NOTE: Do NOT use a food processor for this.
I burnt out the motor on one because it got full of crumbs.
The smaller the crumbs,
the better it turns out. Pour the crumbs in a pie plate and mix in your
spices - usually about 1/4 to 1/2 of a teaspoon of each, mostly to taste.
Start heating about 3/4 inch of oil in a good sized frying pan on
medium-high. While you're waiting for it to heat, mix 1 egg with 1/4 cup
milk in a semi-flat bowl. After your oil heats, dip a piece of cubed
steak in the egg, coat it well with Ritz crumbs, then carefully put it in
the frying pan. Flip it when the bottom is a nice, deep golden
brown. Don't worry about cutting into it and testing for doneness, I've
found that the Ritz crackers do that for you - if they don't brown, it's not
done. Serve with pan gravy made from the drippings (rec. below) and
rice/potatos and veggies.
Pan Gravy for Cubed
Steak
Disclaimer - I can only
get this to come out 3 out of 4 times I make it. It's kind of a
crapshoot. Don't blame me if it's not quite right.
2 tablespoons pan
drippings
2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Milk
Pour out all your oil
except for 2 tbsp and the chunks of Ritz that get stuck at the bottom.
Warm the drippings to medium. With a fork, mix in 2 tbsp of flour,
stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper quickly while stirring.
Cook until the roux (flour/dripping mix) turns a light light brown and smells
kind of nutty. Start SLOWLY adding milk in a constant thin stream.
The mixture will kind of puff up first, but as you add milk it should get
thinner in consistancy. When it's down to a semi-thin sauce, stop adding
milk but continue to stir, unless you like lumpy gravy. Add more
pepper. Keep stirring until it begins to thicken. When it's where
you like it, serve over the cubed steak and potatos or rice.