Oven Baked Smothered Cube Steak
My Oven Baked Smothered Cube Steak always means a crowd around the dinner table. This comfort food weeknight meal is made from scratch and worth the effort. I make it just exactly the way Mom did.
I think we can all agree that meals made from scratch are the most delicious because they are full of flavor and prepared with love!
You will be making the gravy from scratch using the roux from browning the cube steaks sort of like country fried but not quite. I promise you can do this! We have step-by-step photos and instructions followed by a video and a printable recipe.
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Tools Used
- Large skillet
- Baking dish
- Iron skillet (can be used instead of a baking dish)
- Large shallow bowl for flour mixture
- Tongs or Fork for turning meat
- Sifter to sift flour
Ingredients
This recipe uses very simple ingredients that are common pantry staples like salt, pepper, flour, coffee and oil.
- 4 cube steaks
- 1 small onion (optional)
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1 cup prepared black coffee (Instant will work)
- 1 Cup sifted flour for the cube steak
- 2 Tbsp. sifted flour for the gravy
- 2-4 Tbsp. oil
- 1 1/2 Cups Hot water (amount may vary)
Directions
Step 1
Get out a big skillet and a baking dish or use a big cast iron pan to fry and then bake your Smothered Cube Steak.
You will begin by searing the onions if adding onions to your dish.
Place about 2 Tbsp. of oil in the skillet and add sliced onions.
Cook on medium high until onions are clear, stirring often. Take the onions up leaving the oil in the skillet.
Skipping the onions? Start Here ⇓⇓
Printable Recipe Card Below
Step 2
Add the flour and seasonings to a shallow dish and stir to combine.
Step 3
Add about four Tablespoons of oil to the skillet on medium high heat.
After coating the cubed steak front and back with the seasoned flour mixture, fry in hot oil on both sides just until lightly browned. Remove browned cube steaks from oil and drain on a plate with paper towels while you make the gravy.
TIP
Cubed steak is a thin piece of steak and only takes a couple of minutes to cook to a golden brown outside.
You are not trying to cook through. You only want to brown the outside of the meat and take it up. Leave about 3 Tablespoons of oil and the meat renderings in the skillet for making the gravy.
Step 4
Leave the burner on a medium high heat and sprinkle a couple of Tablespoons of sifted flour across the surface of the hot oil in the skillet. This is your gravy base. Working quickly, using a fork or whisk, stir to break up any lumps in the flour at this time.
Step 5
Next, add your liquid beginning with the black coffee, slowly stirring as you pour.
Black coffee is the not so secret ingredient to make the gravy a nice brown color and give it flavor. Use about 1 cup of black coffee followed by hot water until you have the desired amount of gravy in your skillet.
TIP
Heat the water in a water kettle or boil it in a small saucepan before you begin cooking this meal so your water will be piping hot when added for the gravy.
Continue stirring until the gravy comes to a boil.
Turn the burner down to a medium heat and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until desired thickness is achieved.
Step 6
Place the cubed steak into an appropriately sized baking dish that you have sprayed with non-stick spray. Add the seared onions now before adding the gravy.
Pour the gravy over the meat and onions. Cover with aluminum foil.
The secret to fork tender Oven Baked Smothered Cube Steak is to cook it slow on low. Bake at 300° for about 3 hours, covered.
Serve and enjoy! This delicious recipe is great served with rice or Homemade Mashed Potatoes and your favorite green vegetable.
Print or download recipe below.
Serve over a bed of rice and enjoy the compliments from your family! This meal is what we call ‘fork tender’, no knife required.
The homemade gravy is sometimes called grease gravy because we start with a little of the renderings in grease to make the gravy.
Oven Baked Smothered Cube Steak
Made from scratch Oven Baked Cube Steak with homemade Brown gravy
Ingredients
- 4 cube steaks
- 1 small onion (optional)
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 cup prepared black coffee (Instant will work)
- 1 Cup sifted flour for the cube steak
- 2 Tbsp. sifted flour for the gravy
- 2-4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1/2 Cups Hot water (amount may vary)
Instructions
- Place about 2 Tbsp. of Olive oil in the skillet and add sliced onions.
- Cook on medium high until onions are clear.
- Take the onions up leaving the oil in the skillet.
Browning the Meat
- Coat the cubed steak front and back with seasoned flour
- Fry on both sides just until lightly browned. (You are not trying to cook through, only brown the outside of the meat and take up.)
- Drain on paper toweling.
MAKE THE GRAVY
- You will need medium high heat for this process. Do not walk away!!
- Leave the oil and the meat renderings in the skillet for making the gravy.
- Sprinkle a couple Tablespoons of sifted flour across the surface of the skillet into the hot oil.
- (There shouldn’t be much gravy base at this point. Don’t worry, that little bit of gravy base will make a skillet full of gravy!)
- Using a fork, stir and break up any lumps at this time. You will need to work quickly.
- Add your liquid, slowly stirring as you pour. (To make the gravy brown, I use about 1 cup of black coffee which adds that special flavor to homemade brown gravy.) Then add HOT water until you have the desired amount of gravy, stirring constantly.
- Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper.
- Continue stirring until the gravy comes to a boil. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally until desired thickness is achieved.
BAKE IT!
- While gravy is simmering, place the browned meat into a prepared baking dish.
- Place the onions on top of the meat.
- Pour the gravy over the top of the meat.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake at 300° for about 3 hours.
- Serve over a bed or rice or mashed potatoes and enjoy!
Notes
If you are skipping the onions, just begin with Browning the Meat in the Instructions.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
4 oz.Amount Per Serving Calories 639Total Fat 43gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 30gCholesterol 98mgSodium 195mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 33g
Nutrition information is not accurate based on uncontrollable variables in home kitchens.
Can you cook Cubed Steak and Gravy in a Crockpot?
Yep, not quite the same, we cheat on the gravy, but see for yourself when you also try my recipe for Crockpot Cube Steak with Mushroom Gravy
More Weeknight Dinners for Family
- Baked Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas Recipe
- Crockpot Pierogi & Meatballs Alfredo Easy Recipe
- Easy Crockpot Beef Tips & Gravy With Two Ingredients
- Bundt Pan Chicken Recipe
- Baked Chicken Leg Quarters Easy Recipe
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Not Quite Mississippi Crockpot Roast
Best way ever to cook chopped steak. I couldnt stop eating.
Could I make the smothered steak recipe with pork chops instead of steak? We love steak but I am looking for some things to do with pork chops.
Hi Lynn, good question. I have never made it using pork chops but that sounds good! Let me know how it goes. I’m afraid I don’t have advice except to manage your cook time based on how thick the chops are. The thicker ones will take longer.
Check out these Pork Chop recipes:
https://intelligentdomestications.com/2014/12/pork-chop-casserole-quick-easy-3-ingredient-dinner.html
https://intelligentdomestications.com/2014/10/3-ingredient-crockpot-maple-glazed-apple-pork-chops.html
Now that I’ve started expanding my culinary skills, I am REALLY enjoying cooking sauces and meals from scratch! I can see why your husband gets so excited for this dish!
Ooo…this looks delicious. Can you believe that I’ve only recently started using cubed steak?! I can’t believe it took me so long to use this type of meat. It’s so yummy breaded with gravy.
What can you use instead of coffee? I don’t drink it, thanks
Looks very tasty – thank you for sharing with Pin Worthy Wednesday
This looks so easy and sounds so delicious! 🙂
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
This looks like an interesting and easy recipe. I will try this tonight. However, I’m adding some low sodium beef broth (with 1 tsp instant coffee), and sea salt for flavoring. I’ll let you know how this comes out. Thanks for your time and effort on this website.
This recipe makes me want to try cubed steak again. Yum! Thanks for sharing at #AnythingGoes.
Your recipe sounded so good ,I made it today ,the gravey had no flavour ( I must have made a boohoo somewhere so i added 2oxo cubes ,a good slog of wostershire sauce and 1/2cup BBQ sauce it went well with all in the end
I just saw your post on google+ . So glad you shared it there. Coffee in the gravy has me intrigued! Pinning.
Only one word is needed. AWESOME!
Thanks for sharing.
I’m drooling–this looks wonderful!
Thank you Judy, it sure was good.
My mother made a lot of cube steak recipes when I was younger. My guess because there was so much you could do with it and it was a cheaper cut of meat. Thanks for linking at the Yuck Stops Here!
My Mother cooked cube steak a lot when I was growing up also. It sure costs more now than back then. Thanks for stopping by, Chrystal. I’ve enjoyed hosting with you ladies at #StopTheYuck.
These hearty flavors just scream Fall to me… I am getting more ready for the Fall Season to arrive every day. Thanks for sharing this recipe. PINNED!
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Thanks for the Pin! I am so ready for Fall to be here, I’m sneaking in those dinners already 🙂
Oh, I do not have a recipe like this one, thank you, Shirley! Adding to my collection 🙂
I am honored to be added to your recipe collection! I want to hear about it when you make gravy!
This looks great – I refuse to buy cubed steak in the stores because I never seem to know how to cook it. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
You’re welcome Zan. I hope you will tell me how your family enjoys it when you make it.
The first time my youngest daughter had crackling cornbread at my mom’s house (she was about 2) she said, “Grandma, your cornbread has bones in it.” Crackling cornbread can’t be beat!
And, by the way, brown gravy is so much better than white gravy (in my opinion). And every good southern cook better know how to make cubed steak. Great tutorial!
That is funny Alli. Children and be so funny sometimes. It is for certain that white gravy and brown gravy both have their place at the table. We tend to prefer white gravy for biscuit type meals and brown gravy for meat and potato type meals.