What is cubed steak made of?

Cube steak is made from the top round of the cow. A tougher cut of meat that is less expensive but needs to be cooked longer. Cube steak gets its tenderness from being pounded and cut with a meat tenderizer. This method breaks down tough fibers, making the meat softer. Its name comes from the cube-like indentations left by the tenderizing process. This gives it a unique cube pattern, similar to ground meat.

When did cubed steak become popular in America?

Easy cube steak recipe and cube steak meat became popular in the 30s and 40s when the machinery became available to quickly cube the meat.

How can I cook cube steak so it's tender and not tough?

To ensure cube steak turns out tender and not tough, it's best cooked using methods that involve moisture, such as braising or slow cooking. Cooking it in a CrockPot or on the stovetop with gravy or sauce can help maintain its moisture and tenderness.

What are the best side dishes to serve with cube steak?

The best side dishes are wide egg noodles, rice, mashed potatoes, and a simple salad.

Irresistibly Tender CrockPot Cube Steak with Gravy Recipe

This crockpot cube steak recipe offers an easy recipe and a flavorful meal that transforms less expensive meat into a tender cut of beef. Crockpot cube steak is the best comfort food that is simple to make and is done for you at the end of a busy day.

Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

Spray Oil for easy clean-up
6 to 8 Cube Stakes (sometimes called Minute Stake)
Ground Pepper
1 Onion sliced
2 to 3 cups of fresh Mushrooms sliced
1 package of Onion Soup Mix
1 package of Mushroom Gravy Mix
3/4 cup of water
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup
Optional 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water to thicken the gravy.

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Instructions

Spray the inner pot of your CrockPot for easy cleanup.
At the bottom of the CrockPot layer half of the sliced onion and half of the sliced mushrooms.
Layer the cube stakes and pepper about 1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, on top of the onions and mushrooms.
Next, add the rest of the onions and mushrooms.
In a small measuring cup heat the 3/4 cup of water and mix in the soup mix and the mushroom soup mix.
In a medium bowl whisk together the cream of mushroom soup with the water mixture until smooth.
Pour the soup mixture over the cube of steak, onions, and mushrooms.
Cook on low for 6 hours or low for 4-5 hours on high.
After the cooking is done, if you want the gravy to be thicker, mix the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 -1/2 cup of cold water, have the crockpot on high, and add the cornstarch in, and stir until thick.

Notes

For this recipe, I used salt-free cream of mushroom soup as there is sodium in the soup and gravy mix.
If you can not find a cube stake in the meat section ask the butcher as my store makes the cube stake for me in about 5 minutes.
My Crockpot does not have an option to auto-change the settings. I cooked the recipe for 1.5 hours on high to get the temperature and then reduced it to low and cooked for 4 hours. It came out perfectly incredibly tender cube steak recipe just like my mother used to make in the 1960s.

Author: Susan Buonpane
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Category: main dish
Method: CrockPot
Cuisine: American