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Seared mushrooms give this cube steak dinner fantastic flavor. One skillet is all it takes!
Onion Mushroom Cube Steak Is Comfort Food
Cube steak just lends itself to comfort food!
This is a meal I think most home cooks have in their arsenal. Everyone seems to make it differently, but most employ the use of some flavor of condensed cream soup.
I have absolutely nothing against condensed cream soup because I often use it as a shortcut for gravies and sauces in skillet and slow cooker meals.
In this onion mushroom cube steak, the main flavor for the gravy comes from searing the mushrooms and deglazing the pan to pick up all that lovely flavor.
Secret To Great Tasting Mushrooms
The secret to getting mushrooms to taste fabulous is really quite simple. High heat is necessary. That’s it!
A lot of people are loathe to cook anything on high heat, but with mushrooms it’s absolutely necessary. I would advise not using a non-stick pan for several reasons. First, Teflon cannot take high heats because it will ruin the coating. Secondly, it seems to do a poor job at searing things. Ceramic non-stick pans are better because they can be used at high heats and searing is improved over their Teflon counterparts. However, for this job, I strongly suggest using a stainless steel skillet. Stainless does an excellent job at high heats and browns very well.
You have to pre-heat your pan. Get the pan good and hot before adding the oil. When you add the oil it will begin to smoke, but that’s exactly what you want! Quickly add the mushrooms and stir them around to coat them with the oil. It won’t take long before they begin to brown around the edges. When they’re very golden, they are done. One curious thing to remember is NEVER add salt until the mushrooms are browned. If you add salt when you add the mushrooms to the pan, the mushrooms will not brown properly.
Stock Quality Is Important
Your stock is an important part of this dish. Use only the best quality. Homemade is the best to use, but a high-quality store-bought one is equally as good.
I also tend to use low-sodium or unsalted stocks. Remember, you can always correct the seasoning in a recipe if it needs more salt, but unfortunately the reverse is not true. Best to stick to products where you control the seasoning.
The Recipe
Onion Mushroom Cube Steak
Ingredients
- 4-6 large beef cube steaks
- 8-10 oz fresh mushrooms sliced thickly
- 1 medium onion sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 6 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 1/2 cups high-quality beef stock
SEASONED FLOUR
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix the seasoned flour ingredients together. Place about 1/2 cup on a plate and dredge the cube steaks.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 2 tbs of the olive oil (it will smoke that's OK). Quickly add the mushrooms and stir until mushrooms are golden. This will take about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms from the pan.
- Reduce heat under skillet to medium-high. Add 2 tbs olive oil to the pan and brown the cube steaks. You will probably have to do this in shifts because you don't want to crowd the pan. Repeat this step for the remaining shift. Remove the browned cube steaks from the pan. Deglaze the pan with the beef stock.
- Place the browned steaks, mushrooms and onion in the pan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and cook for 30-40 minutes, or until steaks are tender.
- You have two choices to thicken the juice:
- Remove the steaks and veggies from the pan, increase heat to high and reduce juice 50%
- Remove steaks and veggies from the pan. Mix 2 tbs of the leftover seasoned flour with 1/4 cup water and stir the flour/water mixture until there are no lumps. Add to the pan and stir constantly until gravy is thick. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add everything back to the pan and heat through.
Notes
Nutrition
Nanci Simmons says
Can you use Chicken for this,?
Judith Hanneman says
Absolutely and it will be delicious!
Nanci says
Thank you your Asiago chicken is a staple here. We love it
Judith Hanneman says
Thanks so much Nanci!
Jen says
Do you sauté the onions with the mushrooms, or add them raw when you cook everything together for 30-40 minutes?
Judith Hanneman says
You could do either Jen, but I prefer to saute them first.
Vicky says
We needed a break from turkey, so I made this last night for supper. It was tasty. I used some red wine to deglaze the pan and a little extra when it was nearly ready. I simmered maybe 15 minutes, and they were done. Used a mixture of butter and flour to thicken. Also, since the recipe doesn’t say, I sauteed the onions with the mushrooms. This will go into my frequently used recipes on my Pinterest board.
Judith Hanneman says
The wine is a great addition and I will do just like you did next time I make them!