No need to drive-through DQ, make their famous steak fingers in your own kitchen! Seasoned tenderized beef, deep fried to golden brown and served with cream gravy.
4tenderized, cubed round steaks (about 5 ounces each), cut into 1"inch slices (See Recipe Notes: Yield)
2¼cupsbuttermilk2 cups for soaking the strips; ¼ cup for the egg mixture
2cups+frying oil (vegetable or canola - NOT olive oil)See Recipe Notes: Oil
2cupsall-purpose flour
2tablespoonscornstarch
1tablespoonbaking powder
2teaspoonsonion powder
1teaspoongarlic powder
1½teaspoonssalt
1½teaspoonsblack pepper
Cream Gravy Ingredients (this makes 1 cup of gravy so you might need to double the recipe)
¼cupreserved oil from steak fingers
¼cupall-purpose flour
1½cupsmilk, 2% or whole
salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
Steak Finger Recipe
(If you plan on making cream gravy, take the milk out of the fridge now and let it get to room temperature-cold milk will cause your gravy to be lumpy)
Slice the cube steaks into 1"inch strips and place in a flat casserole dish; pour buttermilk over strips and coat them well; let that sit for at least 15 minutes
In a second casserole dish (or pie plate), add the eggs and ¼ cup buttermilk; use a fork and lightly beat the eggs and combine them with the buttermilk
Turn stove to medium high heat and add oil; monitor the heat of the oil; you want it to be around 325-350°F; Use a meat thermometer if you have one. See Recipe Notes: Oil
2 cups+ frying oil (vegetable or canola - NOT olive oil)
Remove a strip of meat from the buttermilk and dredge it through the flour mixture; then dredge it through the egg mixture, and give it a final dredge in the flour mixture again. Flour, Egg, Flour. Repeat until all strips are coated.
Test the oil temperature with a meat thermometer to make sure it's hot enough or, test the oil by flicking a little flour in it; if it sizzles, the oil is hot; if it doesn't sizzle, wait a few minutes and test again or turn the heat up a little
Gently place the breaded steak fingers into the hot oil in a single layer; cook 3-5 minutes until the internal temperature is 145°F and the exterior is golden brown; transfer to wire rack
Cream Gravy Recipe
Strain the frying oil into a glass bowl and wipe out hot skillet with a sturdy dishtowel or a bunch of paper towels; add oil back to the cast iron skillet; turn heat to low (See Recipe Notes)
¼ cup reserved oil from steak fingers
Sprinkle in flour and stir for about 2-3 minutes on low to medium-low heat; flour thickens at a low heat so don't turn the heat up too high or it won't thicken up
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Gradually begin to add milk in ½ cup increments while constantly whisking with a wire whisk; keep adding milk and whisking until it gets to the consistency you like; season to taste with salt and pepper
1½ cups milk, salt and pepper
Notes
YieldEach texturized cube steak is about 5 ounces and when you cut it, you'll get about 4-5 steak fingers per piece of meat. I roughly allow about one steak per person,(that's 4-5 slices per person), but if you've got big eaters, men or no side dishes to go with it, I'd allow 1 1/2 steaks per person just to be safe.OilDo not use olive oil; it can't tolerate the high heat. The amount of oil depends upon the size of your skillet and how many steak fingers you're frying. I use a 10"inch skillet with 2 cups of oil. You want enough oil to completely cover the breaded steak fingers, so fill the skillet up about 3/4 of the way with oil.Flour mixtureStart with two cups of flour; that should be enough to coat 3 large steaks. If you're making this for a crowd, double the flour mixture ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking powder, onion powder, garlic powder salt and pepper) and increase the eggs to 3 or 4.Adding oil back to the skilletFirst - BE CAREFUL. That skillet is hot and so is that oil. Strain the frying oil through a fine mesh strainer. Wipe out the skillet using tongs and a bunch of paper towel or an old rag, then add a little of the strained oil back to the skillet for your gravy.