Cube Steak with Mushroom and Onion Beef Gravy

This is the kind of dinner we make over and over again in our house. Why? Well first off we love it and secondly when you are cooking for just two people it makes sense. When do we make it? When we see the cube steaks have been made using chuck beef. Chuck beef is inherently more flavorful and more tender because of the fat content than say a cube steak cut from the round.

Because you are talking thin cuts of beef you can easily spend less money on a dinner by checking out whether the family pack brings you more value, or perhaps buying two single packages makes sense for your family and for your budget. And by all means look for them on sale! Beef is still very highly priced.

The cube steak cooks very, very quickly which makes it an ideal protein choice for weeknight dinners. Now I can hear many of you say, but they are tough, tough as shoe leather. That's because you may be cooking them all wrong.

The key to cooking cube steaks is a skillet you let get hot over medium high to high heat. Then you add your butter and maybe a slight splosh of olive oil. You want the butter to turn brown but not burn. When the butter is melted, sizzling and brown add the cube steaks to the pan and sear on a high heat for about 1 minute per side and pull them out of the pan! Set them to rest on a plate. When you have all the other components of this dish ready then you can place the cube steaks in the hot mushroom and onion gravy and give a quick swirl to coat and warm up. Don't keep them in there for very long! Serve immediately.

I think if you follow this you should have success and not feel like you must shy away from this tasty little steak. And as I mentioned earlier it's good when you are cooking for two, but it makes a terrific family meal as well.

All through childhood and teenage years my mother made these for dinner. Today marked the 26th year since her passing so whether that was in the back of my mind when I decided what dinner would be or not, I consider this to be an homage to my mother who was one heck of a cook!

We love ours always with mashed potatoes and a nice side vegetable. And just look at that nice beefy gravy that has been flavored with the caramelized onions and quickly sauteed mushrooms!

• 3/4 lb. cube steaks (about 3)
• 1 - 10 oz. box mushrooms (I used button mushrooms as they were on sale.)
• 1 large onion
• 1 can Campbells® Beef Broth
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

1. Salt and pepper to taste both sides of the cube steaks.
2. Peel and cut your onion in half then make half moon slices.
3. Clean and slice your mushrooms.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add in 2 tablespoons of butter and let it melt. Add in the onion slices and cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring occasionally until caramelized. Remove the caramelized onions to a bowl.
5. Jack the heat up to medium high and add in the mushrooms. Stir and saute quickly until they brown slightly. You may need to add 1 tablespoon more of butter to the pan. They only take a minute or so to saute. Add those to the bowl of onions.
6. Crank the heat up to high. Add in 2 more tablespoons of butter to your pan along with a tsp. of olive oil. When the butter is bubbling and turning brown (but not burning) add in the cube steaks. Sear them quickly for about 1 minute on each side. Remove them to a waiting plate.
7. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and 1/3 of the can of beef broth and mix well. You are making a slurry.
8. With the heat still on medium high, de-glaze the skillet with the beef broth, scraping the bottom and sides getting up all the good bits on the bottom.
9. Add the onions and mushrooms back to the pan and stir.
10. When the mixture is at a boil whisk in the slurry a little at a time until you have the thickness of the gravy you desire.
11. You can add the cube steaks back in and simmer for another minute or two. Don't cook too long as they may toughen up.