This recipe will certainly work with beef cube steak. But, at our house, venison is the typical protein at dinner time. My husband is a deer hunter and works each season to fill the freezer so we have enough to last us through the year, till the next fall. Now our daughter goes hunting as well, so soon we'll have more than enough to go around! My husband and I have picked up turkey hunting, so hopefully I will have some wild turkey recipes to add!
Country Fried Steak, Chicken Fried Steak, Fried Cube Steak or just Cube Steak...whatever you call it, it is delicious! As the years have gone by we find ourselves opting for more and more cube steak from the processor as this has become a family favorite. In fact, a birthday tradition in our home is the birthday girl or guy gets to pick what ever meal they want. Both of our daughters have been opting for cube steak as their all time favorite, must have, special birthday dinner.
For this one, don't you dare break out an air fryer. Put that thing away and get out that tried and true, well seasoned, cast iron skillet like your Grandma used for pretty much every meal.
Aside from that skillet here is what else you will need.
INGREDIENTS
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Pack of cube steaks. Ours usually comes back with 6 - 8 steaks
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Crisco
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2 cups of flour
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2 tbl Nature's Seasoning - any sort of seasoning blend will work, but this is what I use.
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1 tsp Garlic Powder
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1 tsp Salt
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1 tsp Pepper
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1/2 tsp Paprika
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Any other seasoning you want to throw in. Give rosemary a try! Really any of your go to spices and seasonings will work. It's all about your personal taste.
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4 Eggs
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1/4 Cup Milk
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Scoop out enough Crisco so that when it melts it fills up the skillet to about a 1/4 of the way. Turn the stove on so that the oil can start to heat.
2. Sprinkle both sides of your steaks with Season All. This isn't from the 2 tbl mentioned in the ingredients. Just a light sprinkle directly onto the venison steaks.
2. Set up an assembly line of your raw seasoned steaks and two shallow bowls next to your skillet.
3. In one bowl add in your flour and spices. Use a fork or whisk to mix well.
4. In the other put in your eggs and milk then give them a good whisk.
5. Dip steaks in egg wash mixture on both sides. Then dredge through the flour and seasoning mixture, coating both sides with flour well. Give the flour a little pat to press it in.
6. Then do this same process a 2nd time. Back in the egg wash on both sides and back in the flour on both sides.
7. Use tongs to drop them into the oil. Once they have browned, flip them over and let them brown on the other side.
8. Once brown on both sides, set them to the side to drain on a paper towel.
9. Serve it up and enjoy!
RECIPIE TIPS FOR THE TASTIEST RESULTS:
Seasoning Tips
Venison is leaner than beef, so it can take a little more seasoning in my opinion. Especially, if you have picky eaters who are concerned about it having a gamey flavor.
This recipe is really preference based. The more you make it, you may decide it was a little salty or a little bland or would be great with a different seasoning all together. Go with your taste palate and change it up next time you make it.
Breading Tips
Depending on how big your pack of cube steaks is you may find yourself needing to refill your egg wash, flour mixture or both. You may not need to use as much as you did at the start. So just take a look at what you have left and use your best judgement. If you only have 2 or 3 steaks left to do, then 1 egg and a splash of milk should get you through.
Frying Tips
You will adjust the heat on your oil through out the process. If it starts to smoke, look clear or bubble then it is too hot (we call it too angry) so back it off just a bit. Once you start cooking if you don't get that sizzle when you drop your steak in then its not hot enough, bump the heat up. If its too hot, then your breading will burn but your meat won't cook. If its too low then it will take forever to get the breading crispy and your meat may become too tough. Don't worry though, a little trial and error and you will learn to read the oil in no time and become a pro at frying anything! Fried Green Tomatoes, here you come.
Don't over crowd your frying pan. Three, maybe four steaks (if they are smaller) at a time is all I would recommend. Give space between each steak so the side can get crispy too.
Keep the Crisco handy, you will likely need to add a little more with each batch.
Serving Tips
We usually serve our cube steaks on a bed of rice with gravy and a veggie of some sort on the side. Rice and a jar of beef gravy are quick and easy and oh so yummy. But a helping of mashed potatoes and made from scratch gravy would be delicious as well and a extra special.
Sharing your harvest with the whole family is what it's all about! Coming up with new recipes or fine tuning an old one is part of it. Maybe the entire family wasn't sitting in the stand when the deer was taken (or maybe they were). But they can certainly sit around the table and share in the fruits of the labor.
If you have sons or daughters who you are trying to expose to hunting showing them the pride in the meal it provides is an excellent way to do that.
I hope you have a great time getting this one to the table!
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