Twyla Sorrells's Recipe

Steakfingers and Cream Gravy

Category: Meats

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Steakfingers

Cube Steak, or Round Steak (You’ll want to tenderize the round)
Buttermilk, or milk + vinegar
Eggs
Flour

Note: If you’re out of buttermilk, whole milk will work, or you can “make” buttermilk by adding about a Tbsp. of vinegar to a cup of milk and stir. The old recipes want a fourth-cup vinegar to 3/4 cups milk but I find that to leave a tart whang to the food... Yeah, it’s a wee bit on the strong side! ☺

For each 2 pounds (approximate) of steak you’ll need: 1 cup buttermilk (see note); 1 beaten egg; salt & pepper to taste; and 1 cup flour + additional flour as needed.

In a large-mouthed bowl or pie plate place the flour. Set close to your frying source. If you like your food fairly salty you may want to salt the flour, or add any seasonings you prefer.

In another large-mouthed bowl or pie plate put the buttermilk and egg, mixed well. Set beside the other bowl, also close to your frying source.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer or an iron skillet. I prefer to deep-fry steakfingers.

Rinse the steaks with cold water. This will draw the blood out as well as rinsing off anything from the butcher you may not want on your food. Place on a clean cutting board, season lightly with salt & pepper, and then slice into strips that are about 1/3 to 1/2-inch thin and about 4-inches long. These do not have to be precise or even perfectly uniform by any means. Note: They’ll be a little wet from rinsing, do not dry them. The moisture will help hold the breading onto the meat.

Dredge the strips in the flour gently, then dip in the buttermilk-egg wash, then dredge in the flour again. Drop into the hot oil and fry until well browned. You’ll have to fry these a few at a time. I keep them warm on an uncovered platter placed in a 200° oven while cooking the remaining steakfingers and they suffer no ill effects.

I almost always have to add more flour. Also note that when the flour begins to get lumpy it’s better to dump the lumps and start with fresh flour so you don’t get hard chunks in the breading.

Continue until all are cooked. Serve hot.

Recommended sides: Fried or Mashed Potatoes with Cream Gravy.
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Cream Gravy

1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup oil from frying the steak
3/4 cup flour
3 to 4 cups warm milk (warm in microwave about 30 seconds per cup)
Seasonings: Salt, White Pepper, Garlic Granules, Onion Powder, Rubbed Sage, Dried Basil, Paprika, Whatever you like...

In a saucepan, melt the butter and pour in the oil while it’s melting. Mix the flour and seasonings, and heat the milk if need be.

When the butter-oil is completely liquefied but not browned, use a wire whisk or fork and stir in the flour. Stirring constantly, blend completely and then cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, taking care to not scorch it.

Add the warm milk, stirring to prevent lumps, and cook until desired consistency. We like ours a little on the thick side, but the advantage of making homemade gravy is that you get to choose all the options!

Serve hot.

Note: If you cannot serve immediately, cover the pan with a properly-fitting lid and stir it every minute or so to prevent it filming over. If a film does form, spoon it off before serving the gravy.

Substitutes: Instead of butter you may use Lard; Beef Tallow; Coconut Oil, or Shortening, but margarine is not a good choice for this recipe as it has too much water in it.