One of my favorite fast food meals when I was a kid was the Steak Finger Basket from Dairy Queen. I loved dipping my Texas Toast into the country white gravy! They don’t make it anymore (according to their website) and I can’t remember the last time I even drove past a DQ, so I decided to make my own Steak Fingers with Country Gravy. Y’all these are better than take out!
Cube steaks are cut into strips, double dipped in flour and buttermilk, then fried to golden brown. The country gravy is made with just a few ingredients and is a must! Serve with Texas Toast and either fries or mashed potatoes. This is a hearty meal and there will be happy, full bellies all around!
How to Make Steak Fingers with Country Gravy
You can’t make chicken fried steak or steak fingers without cube steak. This is top round or sirloin steak that has been tenderized and flattened using a mechanical meat tenderizer. You can even do it yourself with a special tenderizing mallet that has sharp points on it. Just cut into 1 inch strips and they’re ready!
Next, it’s time to dredge. The trick to a super flavorful, extra crispy coating like DQ’s is to double dip them! Dip the steak fingers into the seasoned flour, then buttermilk, back to flour, back to buttermilk then end with flour. It’s a mess but use tongs and it’s not bad at all and SO worth it.
BIGGEST TIP!!!! The trick to getting the crispy coating to STAY PUT is to get them coated and place on a wire rack to dry out a little. It gives the flour and buttermilk time to become really close friends! Ha! Let them sit for at least 5 minutes.
Next, make sure your canola or vegetable oil is at 350 degrees and fry the steak fingers a few at a time. To keep them warm as I go, I use another wire rack on a sheet tray to place them on when done. Then place in oven on “warm” while the rest are frying.
See? That coating isn’t going to fall off of these steak fingers!
Finishing Up with the Country Gravy
To make the gravy just add 1/4 cup of the steak finger cooking oil to a pan. Add 4-5 tablespoons of flour and stir to make a roux. You want the roux to be a little pasty like this – not too runny and not too thick.
Next, add 2 cups of milk and bring to a boil. Add season salt and an obscene amount of black pepper.
Dinner is done! Find someone else to clean up the mess for you after this one. They owe you one after making this incredible homecooked meal of Steak Fingers and Country Gravy.
What’s On Sale?
Ingredients on sale for my Steak Fingers with Country Gravy at Lee’s Marketplace the week of May 18-24: cube steaks, eggs, Johnny’s Season Salt
Steak Fingers with Country Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 1/2-2 lbs cube steaks, cut into 1 inch wide strips
For the flour mixture:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 1/2 tablespoons season salt
- 3 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the buttermilk mixture:
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the gravy:
- 1/4 cup cooking oil (from steak fingers)
- 4-5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- season salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a shallow, wide bowl mix together flour, cornstarch and spices. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and cornstarch. Set aside.
- Add 2 inches of oil to a large skillet with tall sides or dutch oven then heat to 350°F.
- While oil is heating up, prepare the steak fingers by coating lightly in flour, then dip into buttermilk, back into flour, back into buttermilk, then end with flour. Carefully let excess flour and buttermilk drip off during each step. Use tongs for less mess.
- Place coated steak fingers on a wire rack to rest while finishing the remaining strips. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before frying.
- Fry 3-5 strips at a time depending on size of frying pan. Once all sides are golden brown, place on another wire rack that is sitting on a sheet tray to drain. If desired, place finished steak fingers in the oven on "warm" while frying the rest.
- To make gravy, add oil to a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons flour and whisk to make a roux. The mixture should be pasty – not runny and not thick. If it is too runny add 1 more tablespoon flour.
- Next, whisk in 2 cups milk and bring to a low boil. Add season salt and pepper to taste. Stir until thickened and add more milk if it gets too thick. Serve with steak fingers for dipping. Makes approximately 18-24 steak fingers.
DQ does still have Steak Fingers, and it’s my favorite thing to get there…besides the cheese curds, of course! These look sooooo good though…we love to make steak fingers in our house, too, but I’m definitely going to try this recipe!
When I looked at the menu online it didn’t list steak fingers. Maybe they’re not available near me? They were on the menu still when I was in Texas though. Hope you love them!
Terrific recipe – the flavor took me right back to my childhood in Texas and the long drives that come with living there! My family always stopped at DQ’s in the small towns and the steak fingers basket was always my choice! 😄
So happy you loved this recipe! Thank you for the review!