As I watch it raining ice/snowing outside, it makes me sad to think of all the children who anticipated hunting for Easter eggs today, and all the people who devote so much time and effort to organize those events.
We are trying something on the smoker today — smoking a chuck roast that will turn into burnt ends. I found on the WWW that it has several names, one being Poor Mans Burnt Ends. However, there is nothing cheap about buying beef chuck roast. Anyway, we’ll see how this turns out, and will let you know (and share the recipe, if it works out). However, in the meantime, I wanted to try something that I thought my roommate would like for lunch. Here in the midwest, we love everything with gravy, and one delish meat item that goes with gravy is chicken fried steak. I made steak strips or fingers using beef cube steak, and whipped up some quick homemade gravy to dunk them in. Well, it was a hit, and I’ll be doing this again.
Note that the flour is really seasoned which is key, and I actually cut the steak into strips before it was completely thawed which made it a little easier.
Hope you have a wonderful Easter, and thanks for spending some of your Sunday with me!
~Connie Kaye
Chicken Fried Steak Fingers
Ingredients for for steak fingers:
- 1 1/4 lb. cube steak
- 1 c. flour
- 1 tsp. each garlic and onion powder
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- Salt (make sure you get enough)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 c. milk
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Ingredients for gravy:
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. flour
- 1 1/4 c. milk
- kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Slice steak into thin long strips about 1/3 – 1/2” thick.
- Set up a dredging station: In a bowl, combine flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cayenne, and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, whisk together milk and eggs. Season steak strips with salt and pepper. Dredge the steak strips in the flour mixture then add them to the egg mixture and turn the pieces to coat. Return steak to the flour and dredge once more.
- In a deep skillet or dutch oven, add about 1” of vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering and about 350°, place the steak strips, one by one, into the oil . (Do in batches) Cook until golden all over, about 2 minutes per side. Place them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off any excess grease.
- Make gravy: In a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter. When the butter is foamy, whisk in flour and cook mixture until the flour is golden, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to gently simmer the gravy until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Enjoy!
Connie Kaye's Kitchen 