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This Mushroom Crock Pot Cube Steak & Gravy is comfort food in a slow cooker! Cube steak isn’t the easiest steak to cook, but if you have a crockpot you have it made!
This is the Crock Pot Cube Steak Recipe You’ve Been Looking For!
I am of the opinion that there isn’t really a “fast fry” or minute steak that works out cooking it quickly. There are tons of recipes on the internet that tells you to cook it in a frying pan for 10-15 minutes. Well, I’ve had shoe leather with every attempt I’ve made to fast cook those steaks, so that doesn’t really work, does it? I think that if you have a great local butcher that can cut and tenderize real minute steaks then you have it made. If you are buying the steaks at the grocery store, assume that they need to be treated as cube steaks. All of these types of steaks are thin and tenderized yet have never yields a tender result for me from fast frying them. Slow cooking is the way to go!
Cube Steak is Sometimes Labelled Minute Steak or Fast Fry Steak
Cube steak has to be cooked a long time in order to be tender and succulent, but if you have the time and the patience the reward is one amazing beef dish! It tends to also be a cheaper cut of meat to pick up and a lot of people ignore it as they fast fry it and wonder why it’s as tough as shoe leather. Heck , I have been ignoring cube steak/fast fry/minute steaks as I also have been cooking them wrong! So don’t beat yourself up if you have also been ignoring this cheaper cut of beef because I have never had luck with it before. Let’s face it, when the grocery meat department labels them “fast fry”, what else are you supposed to think about the cooking methods?
Technically, minute steak is supposed to be different. Cube steak is cut thin and tenderized with the distinctive cube shapes indented in it. Minute steak is cut thin and pounded. I have actually never bought a minute steak that was tenderized properly and I think the problem lies in the fact that butchers just pound on a piece of sirloin and call it minute steak.
What is cube steak?
- Cube steak is usually a top round or top sirloin steak that has been tenderized by pounding it with a meat tenderizer. Sirloin steak isn’t usually the best cut of meat for tender steaks, so tenderizing it and flattening helps with the cooking process.
- You might also find cube steak labeled as “minute steak” or “fast fry steak”. Those are thin pieces of tenderized steak that should be treated as cube steak for cooking purposes.
- The actual name of “cube steak” comes from the indentations that are left in the top of the steak from the tenderizer!
Tips and Tricks for the Best Crock Pot Cube Steak and Gravy
- If you want to guarantee a tender steak, go for the long and slow cooking method. It’s very hard to get a proper steak from the grocery store meat department all the time so err on the side of caution and don’t waste your money on cooking it fast and ending up with meat that’s as hard as a hockey puck.
- You have to braise cube steak with a lot of moisture, the moisture helps it not dry out. Cube steak doesn’t have the fat running through it like blade or chuck steaks do so you have to compensate for that.
- The gravy and soup in this recipe can be switched out for low sodium.
- I didn’t add more salt to this recipe and I would salt it after. Let people salt their own portions.
Try some of my other crock pot recipes:
- Kielbasa Kapusta in the crockpot
- Crockpot Macaroni Cheeseburger Soup
- Crockpot Meatball Shepherd’s Pie
- Crockpot Flat Iron Steak
- How to Make Crockpot Bone Broth
Happy crock pot cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Mushroom Crock Pot Cube Steak & Gravy
Ingredients
Crockpot Cube Steak Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds cube steak, 2-4 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 large white onion, cut into large chunks
Crockpot Mushroom Sauce
- one 10.5 ounces can of cream of mushroom soup
- one .75 ounce powdered mushroom gravy mix
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- one 10 ounces can button or sliced mushrooms with brine
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl. Place the oil in a large skillet and heat to medium high heat.
- Dredge the cube steak through the flour mixture, coating all sides. When the oil is heated Add in the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the cube steak to the frying pan. Fry all of the steak until it’s browned on all sides. .
- Spray your crockpot liner with cooking spray. Place the cube steak and onions in the bottom of the crockpot.
- In a large glass measuring cup whisk together the crockpot mushroom sauce ingredients until the gravy powder is mixed throughout.
- Pour the mixture over the cube steaks and onions. Place the lid on top and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10.
- Serve with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes. or my fully loaded crockpot potatoes
Sonia says
I am not a Big Fan of Slow Cookers , It just takes too long for me and Clutters up My Kitcken Counter.
I have One but Never Really Use it. I prefer Cooking Meat a bit longer on Medium-Low heat until Tender. I find Slow Cookers are for Lazy People. Cooking on Low or High for 5-8 Hours . Is just not My Thing. Many Times Results were not what I expected too. Also many times you need to pre-cook things and then add it to Slow Cooker too.
Sorry Just My Opinion.
Randi says
This one is a WINNER! You could also sub other cuts, like round steak or sirloin if you find you have that cut in the freezer. But, it does make a marginal old cube steak into a wonderfully tender meal! Husband loved it, it was a WIN! **I think with a little adjusting, you could do the same thing with chicken, too. Thanks Karlynn!
Patricia Johnson says
I made this and it was great. I have never made cube steak that turned out as tender and easy to chew as this was and lots of gravy too. So good! Thank you for a reason to buy cube steak again. I will definitely be making this again!