Southern Fried Cube Steak with Banana Flour

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As we are sure you know by now, here at Our Southern Odyssey, we have made it our mission to only eat organic whole foods.  So, when we purchase beef we want it to be organic and only grass-fed – no grains in the animals diet.  But, trying to buy organic grass-fed cube steak at the grocery store, in our area, is out of the question.  However, we are fortunate enough to be able to purchase sirloin steaks that are organic as well as grass-fed at our local grocery store.  I (Valancie) am so relieved; because, cube steak has always been one of my favorite meals.  So, when Mom told me that we could buy the sirloin steak and beat it to make cube steak, I was thrilled.  If you are like me and really like cube steak but want it to be organic and grass-fed; but, cannot find the cube steak already prepared in your area.  Then this recipe is for you.  

We are in the process of trying to find local farms that have grass-fed beef.  When we do, then I may be able to get cube steak without having to beat it myself.  I am, also, hoping that it will be cheaper than the sirloin steaks.  Eating healthy can be costly; but, I look at being healthy as an investment in my future.  Because, after all if we can remain healthy then we will not have all those expensive medical bills.  I like the statement the Dr. Steven R. Gundry made, “I want to die young at a very old age”.  My mom is thinking about making this her motto.  

My maternal grandmother has a secret about cooking cube steak.  And since I think it is a great idea I’m going to share it with all of you.  A lot of people think that cube steak is tough.  This included my dad.  When my mom first made cube steak for my dad, many years ago, he told her he wished she had made something else; because, cube steak was tough and he just could not eat it.  Mom finally convinced him to just try the cube steak and if it was tough or he just did not like it she would make something else for dinner.  But, she knew all the time this was not going to happen; since, she knew the steak was so, very, tender he would love it.  And guess what?  He did love the tender cube steak.  So much so that he tries to persuade mom to make it more often.  This is probably why cube steak is one of my favorite meals.  I’m not sure if I should thank my mom, my dad or my grandmother.  To be on the safe side I will just thank all three of them.  

Oh, but what is the secret?  Well!  I will tell you, now.  After the cube steak is fried in a cast iron skillet.  Remove the steak from the skillet and place in a baking dish.  After all the steak has been fried and each piece placed in the baking dish cover the dish with aluminum foil.  Now take and place the covered baking dish in a preheated 350 degree oven, reduce temperature of oven to 300 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.  When it comes out of the oven the steak will be so tender.  As you remove the aluminum foil from the baking dish the aroma of the cube steak will be so savory you will have a hard time not eating a piece before dinner.  Or, if you are like my mom you may eat two pieces before dinner.

Note: If you have never made cube steak before please read all the instructions here as well as in the recipe card and use the step-by-step guide as a reference.  Again, please read all the instructions before attempting this recipe.  This is not a difficult recipe and it really does not have that many steps; because, a lot of the steps repeat themselves.  But when a person first makes this recipe it can seem a little difficult.  After you make this recipe once it will be smooth sailing the next time you make cube steak.

Instructions:

Start by purchasing two beef sirloin steaks that are organic and 100% grass fed from either the grocery store or a local farmer that you trust.  When you get ready to prepare this recipe.  Take out the beef sirloin from the refrigerator and remove the meat from the packaging.  Place the meat on a plate and allow it to get closer to room temperature.  Basically, you want the chill off the steak before you cook it.  As the steak is sitting on the counter take this time to go ahead and get everything ready that you will need to complete this recipe.  

For this recipe you will need olive oil, banana flour, Himalayan pink salt, and black pepper.  The tools that you will need are:  a cast iron skillet, a meat tenderizer tool, cutting board, chef knife, tongs, baking pan, plate, platter, potholder, aluminum foil, fork and measuring cups.  To start off,  you will need the plate with the two beef sirloins, the cutting board, chef knife, and meat tenderizer tool.

Part 1 of the step-by-step guide.  Refer to the guide for any visual references.

Take the first beef sirloin and place the meat on the cutting board.  Before you even pickup the knife take and look at the piece of meat.  Notice if the meat has any gristle.  The gristle is a inedible portion, cartilage, of the meat that will never get tender.  A gristle looks different than the natural marbling (fat) of the steak.  A gristle is a large white piece that runs through certain cuts of meat.  Refer to the step-by-step guide for a visual.  I like to cut the gristle out when making cube steak.  Normally, if I was just cooking a steak I would leave the gristle and cut it out as I was eating the steak.  But, because we are going to batter this meat it is difficult to know where the gristle is and then eating it would prove to be difficult.  A good rule of thumb if a large white portion of the meat looks like it would be difficult to chew then cut it out of the meat.  After the gristle has been removed cut the sections of steak into 2” x 2” cubes.  Repeat these steps on the second beef sirloin.  After all the meat is cut into cubes take the meat tenderizer tool, we use one with stainless steel teeth, and began beating the cubes one at a time.  Take and beat one side of the meat until it becomes thin, then take and flip the meat and beat the other side.  When the meat is flattened take and place it back on the plate the beef sirloins were on.  Repeat this step of tenderizing the meat until all the cubes have been flattened.  

Now, that all the meat has been flattened and is stacked on the plate take and remove the cutting board, knife and meat tenderizer tool.  We will now need the platter, banana flour, a fork, Himalayan pink salt, black pepper and the cubed steak.  But before we start this step, take and add 1/4 cup of oil to a cast iron skillet and place the skillet on the burner (eye) on medium heat.  This will allow the skillet to get to temperature before we add the meat.  Note: We use an electric stove; therefore, if you use a gas range adjust accordingly.  

Take and sprinkle the banana flour out onto the platter in an even layer.  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the cube steak that is on top of the pile.  With the fork move the cube steak over to the platter with the banana flour and lay the cube steak down with the salt and pepper side facing downward into the banana flour.  Repeat the steps of salt and peppering the cube steak on top of the pile and placing them facing down in the banana flour until the platter has a single layer of cube steak on it.  Once the cube steak is on the platter take and salt and pepper the side of the cube steak that is facing up.  Next with the fork, if you do not want to use your hands, take and press the cube steak into the banana flour.  Then take and turn the cube steak over and press the other side into the banana flour.  Make sure to coat each side of the cube steak well with banana flour.  After the cube steak has been battered take and began stacking the cube steak on top of one another somewhere on the side of the platter.  Then repeat the steps with the next stack of cube steak on the plate by salt and peppering it, turning them face down in the banana flour, salt and peppering the side facing up and battering the cube steak and finally stacking them to the side of the platter.  Repeat these steps until all the cube steak has been battered.

Part 2 of the step-by-step guide.  Refer to the guide for visual references.

Now that all the cube steak is battered take and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  This will allow the oven enough time to get to temperature while the cube steak is cooking in the cast iron skillet.  

Take and place the plate that the cube steak was initially on in the sink.  We will not be using it anymore.  Take the platter with the cube steak stacked on it and the banana flour and move the platter closer to the burner (eye).  Take a small amount of banana flour and sprinkle it onto the oil in the cast iron skillet.  If the banana flour sizzles then the oil is hot enough.  If the oil does not sizzle then the oil is not hot enough; but, if the oil sizzles like crazy and starts popping the oil is to hot.  Use the visual guide in part two as a reference on how the banana flour should sizzle in the oil. 

Now that the oil has been tested and is hot enough take and start adding the cube steak to the skillet.  Continue to add the cube steak to the skillet until the skillet is full.  Do not overlap the cube steak in the skillet.  As the cube steak cooks it will begin to shrink.  When this happens add more cube steak to the skillet, again making sure not to overlap the meat.  The cube steak will take about three minutes to cook on one side before it will need to be flipped.  The meat will go from battered light brown to bright pink on top and light cooked brown on the sides.  Again use the step-by-step guide as a visual for what to look for before turning the cube steak.  If the cube steak is a little thicker than what we tenderize ours it may take a little longer to cook in the skillet; but, the visual of the meat cooking will still be the same so the step-by-step guide will help.  After you turn the first batch of cube steak over in the skillet take and get a baking pan that is oven safe and place it where the cooked cube steak can be placed into it easily.  

Continue to add battered cube steaks to the skillet as the meat cooks.  The oil will be absorbed by the banana flour so make sure to keep an eye on the oil height in the skillet.  Add oil as needed to the skillet as the meat cooks.   Do not submerge the meat in the oil.  The oil should come only about halfway up on the meat.  Please do not add too much oil to the skillet.

After the meat has cooked for about three minutes on the other side.  Take and remove the meat from the skillet and place it in the baking pan.  You may notice that as the stack of meat is being placed in the cast iron skillet one at a time, that some of the meat may look like the batter has been absorbed into the meat.  If this happens just batter the cube steak again and place it into the skillet.  Again, use the step-by-step guide as a reference.  

Continue to cook the cube steak 3 minutes on each side and place them in the baking pan until all the meat has been cooked.  After the meat has been cooked turn the burner (eye) off and remove the skillet from the burner.  

Take the baking pan with the cube steak in it and cover it with aluminum foil and place it into the 350 degree preheated oven.  Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake the cube steak in the oven for 30 minutes or until they are tender.  Then as soon as they are done they are ready to eat.  We hope that you enjoy this recipe.  I love making and eating cube steak and I hope that it will become one of your new favorite recipes.  Enjoy!