Southern Cubed Steak and Milk Gravy
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There’s nothing quite as comforting as this Southern cube steak and gravy dish. Fortunately, it’s an easy dinner to make on a busy weeknight. All you need is cube steak, milk, and flour and you will have dinner ready in about 35 minutes. The end result is tender steak swimming in creamy and flavorful milk gravy. How good does that sound? You can choose to serve your steak with a variety of side dishes too, like Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes With Mozzarella, Fresh Green Beans, Easy Homemade Dirty Rice.
Recipe Ingredients
- Milk
- Salt
- Pepper
- Flour
- Cube steak
Helpful Kitchen ToolsC
How to Make Cube Steaks and Gravy
Pour just enough oil to coat the bottom of your cast iron skillet and heat oil over medium heat.
Put about a cup of flour in a bowl. Add some salt and pepper and stir that up.
Place a piece of cube steak in the flour mixture and press down a bit to ensure it is dredged in flour.
Turn it over and coat the other side…
Repeat with all of the pieces.
Place in hot oil.
Fry steaks and flip to ensure they’re nice and brown on each side. Once done, remove steak and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
Add about 1/4 cup of flour to this and seasoned salt and black pepper to taste.
Stir that up and continue cooking it on medium heat until the flour gets browned a bit, stirring the whole time.
Next, turn your heat down to the lowest setting and pour the milk into the skillet. I start out with about a cup and a half and then add more if I want it thinner.
Use a wire whisk to stir this because it really helps break up the lumps of flour and get it all good and mixed up.
Cook on the lowest heat until it thickens, stirring constantly. If it gets too thick, you can add more milk. This will just take a few minutes, so stir the entire time and be ready to remove it from the heat when it gets thick.
Put your steak back into the milk gravy, turn them over to coat both sides and you’re done!
Ingredients
- 4 pieces cubed steak
- 1 cup all-purpose flour plus about 1/4 cup more to thicken gravy
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups milk approximately
Instructions
- Place enough oil in a pan to just coat the bottom and put that over medium heat while you prepare your steak.
- In a bowl, place 1 cup flour and add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/ 4 teaspoon pepper (more if you prefer). Stir that up. Dip each piece of steak into flour on both sides to get it coated well.4 pieces cubed steak, 1 cup all-purpose flour, salt, pepper
- Place each piece of steak in the heated pan and cook until good and brown on both sides. Remove steak to a plate while you make your gravy.
- Place about 1/4 cup flour into skillet with meat drippings. Add a little more salt and pepper and stir this over medium heat until the flour is slightly browned (just a few minutes).1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups milk
- Slowly pour in 1 1/2 cups of milk, stirring constantly. Continue stirring with a wire whisk (to help with the lumps) over the lowest heat setting until thickened and there are no lumps. This will happen rather quickly. Add a little more milk if you prefer thinner gravy. Return steak to the pan and turn to coat with gravy on both sides.
- Serve steak and gravy together in a bowl or serve gravy on the side to go with mashed potatoes.
Video
Nutrition
Storage
Store the steaks and gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Recipe Notes
- You always want to have your oil good and hot before you add anything to it, as this keeps your food from getting greasy by actually searing it on contact.
- If you’re unsure what cube steak is, it’s either sirloin or a top-round cut of beef that’s been tenderized and pounded with either a meat mallet or machine. This process is called cubing and leaves indentations in the meat, which is where it gets its name. So if you like, you can buy your beef and tenderize it at home. Just make sure it’s about a 1/4-inch thick.
- To make this steak and gravy dish gluten-free, simply swap the flour for a gluten-free version. It’s that easy. All of the side dishes mentioned below are gluten-free too.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with cube steak and gravy?
I like to serve Southern cube steak with milk gravy, mashed potatoes or rice. But another option is to serve it with roasted vegetables, a side of potatoes and peas, or alongside a side salad and bread, to soak up every drop of the flavorful gravy. Yum!
Here are some more easy steak recipes:
Oven Steak Kabobs – A special meal on a budget
My boyfriend [John] and I are expecting our first child in about two months, and I still find it hard to find things my baby and I both agree on. John made this for me for the first time tonight, and it was absolutely delicious! Reminded me of my moms cooking. And, as a side note, we bought our steaks at wal-mart and had no problems with the tenderness. Thanks for the great recipe idea!
Congratulations on your upcoming arrival Crystal!!! There is nothing more precious than a new baby. I am so glad to hear that you liked the Steak and Gravy!!!
Found this when I googled “minute steak recipes” and it sounds great– I’m going to try it tonight. What caught my eye, though, was in your story about your mother’s grandmother when you referred to her as Lela; that was my grandma’s name and my little girl’s name– spelled without the H on the end just like your great-grandmother.
Thanks for the good instructions and tips!
Oh WOW, it is such a great name!! I hope you enjoy the recipe Vania!!!
I grew up with this kind of meal. My Mom made white gravy for us all the time. I love it and continue to make it when I get a desire for it. We always made it with flour and canned milk. I use either can milk or regular…whichever I have and feel up to using.
Thank you for sharing your recipe! I bookmarked your site – will be back to check on what’s new!
Just made this tonight and the whole family LOVED it…even me and I normally don’t like ANY steak. It is now in the meal rotation! THanks for such great pictures and directions!
I am so glad to hear you liked it Julie!!!
I just wanted to say I found this on here awhile back and I love it!!!! Its the only way I have cube steak now 🙂 THANK YOU
I’m 62 and have made this recipe since I was 15. Only difference is I use a Can of Evaporated Milk and and 1 Quart of water with the milk. This gives it a richer creamier taste. It is a standard meal at our house to this day. Quick and easy. I also use same gravy from Fried Chicken and Pork Chops…to die for.
I learned from my Grandmother to make it this way also. I much prefer this method – the extra fat gives it so much more flavor (of course, LOL) I also love this method for Chicken Fried Chicken. YUM!
I am so glad to hear that I make it the same way as your Grandmother!!! Aren’t they just the best!!
I just finished making it, and for some reason all of the flour fell off of the cubed steak 8/
Kandi,
This often happens if the oil is not hot enough when you put the meat in (also happens with breaded fish, chicken and pork.) To test your oil, CAREFULLY flick a tiny drop of water or flour into the hot oil. If it pops or disintegrates instantly, the oil is ready. If it just sits on top of the oil, it’s not hot enough yet. The hot oil helps to “flash cook” the breading to the meat and also helps to seal in all those lovely juices. You’ll also want to make sure that you don’t turn the meat too soon. Pick up the edge of the meat and make sure the breading is sticking. If it begins to fall away, give it a little more time and then check again.
NOTE: This probably goes without saying, but you should NEVER turn your back or look away from an empty pan with oil or fat heating up in it. Not even to do something else in the kitchen. That’s because cooking fats only take a few seconds to reach optimum heat, and if you miss that perfect point, your oil will begin to smoke, which means it is burning and your flavor is ruined. Just a few seconds after it begins to smoke, it can catch fire. And then, well, more than just the flavor may be ruined! ;P