Dairy Queen Steak Fingers Copycat Recipe

Dairy Queen crispy steak fingers in a red checkered basket with a side of white cream gravy.

4.86 from 7 votes

Dairy Queen Steak Fingers Copycat Recipe

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.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Entree, Lunch

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: steak fingers

Calories: 356kcal

Author: Anecia Hero

Equipment

Cast iron skillet
Accurate meat thermometer
Wooden spoon
Wire whisk
Tongs
Wire rack for cooling

Ingredients

Steak Finger Ingredients

4 tenderized, cubed round steaks (about 5 ounces each) , cut into 1"inch slices (See Recipe Notes: Yield)
2¼ cups buttermilk 2 cups for soaking the strips; ¼ cup for the egg mixture
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups+ frying oil (vegetable or canola - NOT olive oil) See Recipe Notes: Oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons black pepper

Cream Gravy Ingredients (this makes 1 cup of gravy so you might need to double the recipe)

¼ cup reserved oil from steak fingers
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1½ cups milk , 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
4 tenderized, cubed round steaks (about 5 ounces each), 2¼ cups buttermilk
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper; stir and set aside
2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1½ teaspoons salt, 1½ teaspoons black pepper
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
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
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

Yield

Each 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.

Oil

Do 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 mixture

Start 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 skillet

First - 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.

Nutrition