Cubed Steak Parmesan

At our house cubed steak is one of the cuts of beef that just doesn't get prepared too often. Right now we are getting down to the bottom of the freezer with our meat selection as we are trying to use up all of last year's beef before we get another one processed. This means we have several packages of cubed steak left to eat. 

Cubed steak is a tougher cut of beef, and it can be difficult to dress it up in a way that is desirable to the taste buds. Cubed steak is usually taken from the beef round primal cut. I wanted to know why cubed steak was so tough, so I did a little research and found out the reason for this. I found this information from Premium Gold Angus Beef:

"Knowing the part of the carcass from which a retail cut is made is  a good indicator of the relative tenderness of the cut, and can help in deciding which method of cookery to use in preparing the cut. For example, the shoulder is a highly exercised part of the animal, and contains greater amounts of connective tissue. A cut from te chuck is not expected to be as tender as a cut from the loin or rib, which are not as heavily exercised, and contain lesser amounts of connective tissue.  Likewise, the beef round is heavily exercised and therefore not expected to yield tender retail cuts. It is also important to note that the more tender cuts usually cost more, so the primal cut name can also be helpful when making economic decisions."

Graphic taken from About.com Culinary Arts

 I came across a recipe the other night that called for cubed steak and it looked promising.  The recipe was cubed steak parmesan, and it was delicious!

The original recipe can be found at allrecipes.com.  I made a few modifications to the original recipe to cut down on the salt content.

Prep Time: 15 minutes  Cook Time:  45 minutes  Ready in: 1 hour

Servings: 4

Nutritional Information: 

Calories- 458

Calories from Fat- 259

Total Fat- 28.8g

Saturated  Fat- 10.3g

Cholesterol- 166mg

Sodium- 1250mg (this is the content from the original recipe.  I opted to not add any extra salt to this recipe, so this amount will be lower).

Ingredients

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

(the original recipe calls for a 1/2 teaspoon of salt here, but I opted to delete this ingredient because you get enough salt from the cheese and the Saltine crackers)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

1/3 cup crushed saltine crackers

1/3 grated Parmesan cheese 

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 (4oz) beef minute or cube steaks

8 oz can of tomato sauce

2 1/4 teaspoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon oregano, divided 

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup of mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a shallow dish, stir together the flour and pepper.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and water with a fork.  In a third bowl, or shallow dish, mix together the cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and basil. 

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Dredge the cubed steaks in the seasoned flour, dip into the egg mixture, and coat with the cracker crumb mixture. Place them in the skillet, and fry just until browned on each side. Arrange steaks in a single layer in a greased casserole dish. 

3. Back for 25 minutes in the preheated oven.  Heat a pot of water to boiling for the spaghetti. Once it is boiling add your desired amount of pasta and cook until soft. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of oregano, and garlic powder.  Spoon over the steaks when the 25 minutes are up.  Top each steak with mozzarella cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese; sprinkle remaining oregano over the top.  Bake for 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted, and the sauce is hot. Place the steaks and sauce over the pasta and enjoy!

Bon Apetit!!

All of the ingredients. 

Flour,  and pepper mixture. 

Crushing the Saltine crackers. 

The Saltine crackers, parmesan cheese, and basil. 

The line up. Coat the meat in the flour mixture, then dip in the
egg and water mixture, then coat in the Saltine cracker mixture. 

The steak after coating in flour. 

Next dip it in the egg. 

Last layer- coat in the crackers. 

Place in the hot frying pan with the vegetable oil. 

Brown both sides of the steak and place in a casserole dish. 

Meanwhile, mix the tomato sause, sugar, oregano, and garlic powder.

Cook the spaghetti while the steak is baking. 

Pour the tomato sauce over the steak and coat with mozzarella cheese. 

Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. 

Add a vegetable and a glass of milk and you've got an inexpensive
and tasty meal. 

Maybe I can get Adam to do the dishes.....