Easy, Tender Cube Steak Recipe

Cube steaks are one of the most frugal cuts of beef. They make a wonderful dinner for a family on a budget. They are versatile and can be grilled, baked, or pan fried with ease.

My easy pan-fried cube steak recipe is kid-approved and a family favorite!

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This Recipe Made Me Love Cube Steak

When we received our first quarter of grass-fed beef, we got several packages of cube steak.  I wasn’t thrilled at first, because my childhood memories of cube steak weren’t great.  I remembered cube steak as chewy and flavorless. In fact, it was the taste and texture of cube steaks that made me swear off steak completely until I took a chance on a sirloin in college and fell in love.

My husband, on the other hand, has fond memories of his mother serving cube steaks for dinner.  I think the cube steaks I had as a child were actually venison, not beef. Although I loved venison otherwise, those cube steaks almost turned me vegetarian at a young age.

Fortunately, the local, grass-fed beef cube steaks we received with our quarter cow order are delicious.  The boys love them and they are tender and juicy.  I use the same basic seasoning mixture that I use on t-bones and sirloins, pan-fry the cube steaks in butter and serve them with onions, peppers and mushrooms.  There are no leftovers after this meal!

Flavorful Golden Brown Cube Steaks with No Flour Needed

Many people bread and fry cube steaks and serve them with gravy. While I have no problem with a meat and gravy dish, we try not to eat too much wheat. I didn’t want to bread my cube steaks or use gravy to give them flavor.

I wanted the end product to be a lovely golden brown and have tons of flavor without a lot of fuss. I needed this recipe to be quick and frugal. With the help of delicious homemade grass-fed butter and some lovely spices like paprika, tumeric, and nutmeg I achieved a golden and flavorful cube steak in minutes.

Spices for the win. I mean, always, right? Flavor and health benefits? Yes, please!

Pan-Fried Cube Steaks, Grilled Cube Steaks, or Baked Cube Steaks

When I first created this recipe I fried it in a cast iron pan to make pan-fried cube steaks. Next I tried it on my indoor cast iron griddle (on the grill side). It worked well and the cube steaks had nice grilled marks.

While I haven’t tried it myself, I’m sure this recipe would be nice baked or grilled on your outdoor grill, as well.

Here’s the recipe.

Pan-Fried Cube Steak Recipe

You can print the recipe below

Ingredients

4 cube steaks
1/4 c butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp nutmeg
[Real salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

1. Combine the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric and nutmeg in a small bowl.
2. Sprinkle both sides of each steak with the mixture.
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan.
4. Place the steaks in the pan and fry until browned.
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and enjoy!