Enjoy tasty beef with a crispy exterior covered in a rich, creamy sauce with my pan-seared cube steak. This simple comfort food dish is sure to please your friends and family.
Pan-seared cubed steak
The comfort of a tasty meatloaf with the personalized touch of steak: my pan-seared cubed steaks are perfect for large gatherings. This one-of-a-kind dish features tender, flavorful diced steak meatballs covered in a rich, flavorful gravy. It’s the perfect meal for a cozy family dinner or large gathering. With a few simple ingredients and minimal cooking, you’ll have a home-cooked feast. Okay, I’m hungry. Let’s begin.
What is cube steak?
First, cubed steak is a method of preparing certain cuts of steak, usually sirloin or sirloin. The meat is tenderized with a meat tenderizer until it forms meatballs. The serrated texture left in the steak after tenderizing is where the name cube steak comes from. This process results in tender meat that almost melts in your mouth.
This process also gives the cube steak the ability to let the flavors you add shine. You can bread your meatballs and serve them with gravy for the country fried steak or with a white pepper sauce for my chicken fried steak. We’ll pan-sear our cube steaks for a crispy exterior and serve them with a tasty brown gravy, but there’s a lot you can do with this versatile beef.
Tenderize your cube steak
Many grocery stores sell ready-made steaks. If your local greengrocer or butcher doesn’t carry it pre-prepared, don’t stress. Take a little sirloin or top sirloin and tenderize it with a meat tenderizer. You want to pound the meat until you can cut into patties about 1/2 inch thick. Then, you have your cube steak ready for seasoning, dredging, and searing.
How long to fry
When pan-searing cube steak, your eyes are your best friend when it comes to ensuring delicious, beautiful results. You want your cubed steak patties to develop a nice, crispy exterior and cook through. To achieve this, melt butter in a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Then, coat the cube steaks with flour in a shallow pan and add them to the skillet. You can plan on about 10 minutes, giving each side of the meatballs 4-5 minutes or until they are a perfect golden brown.
Homemade Pan Gravy
No cube steak dish is complete without a delicious, flavorful gravy. This simple homemade gravy recipe pairs perfectly with tender, flavorful steak, creating a fantastic mix of flavors. When the rich, creamy gravy starts to soak into that crispy, pan-seared steak, your mouth will think it’s at grandma’s house for the holidays. And, bonus, you can make it with things you already have in your pantry. Here’s what you’ll need for this tasty pan sauce:
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt taste
- black pepper taste
How to make a pan-seared cube steak
Once you’ve prepped your cubed steaks (or tenderized yours with a meat tenderizer) and the rest of the ingredients, it’s time to get started.
- Prepare the steaks. Season cubed steaks on all sides with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. You can also grab some of my Beef Rub if you want something simple to complement your steaks perfectly. Add some all-purpose to a shallow dish, then dredge the seasoned steaks in the flour. Make sure you have a light coating of flour all around. This will help achieve a crispy, tender exterior.
- Fry the cubed steaks. In a 12 inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Don’t turn the heat too high, as these thin steaks will cook quickly. Once the butter is melted, go ahead and carefully place the seasoned steaks and let them cook for 4-5 minutes per side. You want your cube steaks to have a nice golden crust all around, so remove them to a paper towel to drain.
- Prepare the sauce in the pan. While your steaks are resting and draining, it’s the perfect time to make some delicious gravy to pour over the top. You’ll take butter for frying and then add a little flour to make a roux. Next, you’ll add beef broth for rich flavor and milk for creaminess. Finally, add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce for the finishing touch and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Choke and serve. Once you’ve made your savory gravy, you’re ready to assemble the most comforting plate of food. Smother your cubed steaks in this rich, brown gravy and devour immediately.
Tips for leftovers
- Warehousing. Be sure to let the pan-seared cubed steaks cool completely, then place them in an airtight container or zipper bag. You can store steaks in the refrigerator this way for up to 5 days.
- Heating. The best way to reheat cubed steaks is to place them in a pan with the sauce and then heat them in the oven on the lowest setting. Once the steaks come to temperature, you can pull them and enjoy them again.
More sizzling steak recipes
If you liked this pan-seared cube steak recipe, then you’re in for a treat. From other cube steak creations to ridiculous ribeyes, I’ve got your steak needs covered in the Hey Grill Hey app. Here are some of my favorites to help you get started:
Pan-seared cube steak recipe
Fry up a great pan-seared cube steak following the recipe card. When you wake up from your comfort food coma, give this recipe a 5-star rating and tell us your experience in the comments. And don’t forget to check it out The grill team if you want an even deeper look at steak and all your favorite BBQ dishes.
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Prepare the steaks. Season the cubed steaks on all sides with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Add the pocket knife to a shallow dish, then submerge the seasoned steaks, coating them on both sides.
4 cubed steaks, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
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Fry the cubed steaks. In a 12 inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, then carefully place your seasoned steaks on top and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. Then, remove them to a paper towel to drain.
1/4 cup butter
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Prepare the sauce. Add 2 tablespoons dredging flour to the butter in the pan and whisk until a roux forms. Then add the remaining ingredients, whisk together and leave to simmer and thicken for 2-3 minutes.
remaining butter, 2 tablespoons flour for dredging, 1/2 cup beef broth, 1/2 cup milk, 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce, Kosher salt, black pepper
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Choke and serve. Once you’ve made the savory sauce, add it to your seared cubed steaks and serve immediately.
Calories: 517kcal | Carbohydrates: 18G | Protein: 39G | Fat: 31G | Saturated fats: 15G | Polyunsaturated fats: 1G | Monounsaturated fat: 11G | Trans fats: 0.5G | Cholesterol: 157mg | Sodium: 866mg | Potassium: 723mg | Fiber: 1G | Sugar: 2G | Vitamin A: 408UI | C vitamin: 0.2mg | Soccer: 90mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is calculated automatically, so should only be used as an approximation.
