Finger Steaks

Of course, like our fried chicken recipe last week, we’ll be making some substitutions for the standard flour-based breading, and we won’t be using any trans-fats or PUFAs to cook these in (come to think of it, I’m sure as a kid we fried these in good ol’ animal fat too!).

Gather Up:

• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of utility meat cuts – round steak, flank steak, sirloin tip, brisket, etc.  Pretty much anything that is low in marbling and has a tendency to dry out or get chewy when cooked past rare.
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• pastured bacon fat, lard, or coconut oil as needed for frying

Start out by cutting the meat into small “bite-size” pieces – either strips or chunks about 2~3″ in size and about 1/2″ thick (butterfly cut if using steaks, or cut into thin slices if using something like flank or brisket).  Next, tenderize them using a meat tenderizer or other means¹.  Think cube steak here – thin and soft so it won’t be chewy when cooked.

Blend the egg and water together with a fork in a shallow flat bowl.  Mix the salt and pepper with the almond meal in another similar bowl.  Place the arrowroot powder in another bowl by itself (not shown).  Set up an assembly line and bread all of the steaks, first with arrowroot, then egg/water, and finally with the almond flour mix.  Collect the breaded pieces on a plate to get ready for frying.

Melt about 1/4 cup of bacon fat in a heavy skillet (cast iron would be perfect for this…) on medium-high heat.  Work in batches so that you don’t crowd the pan, and cook about 2~3 minutes per side (you’ll start to see juice coming to the surface, which means it’s time to flip).  The bumps and divots in the meat from tenderizing help hold the breading in place better than on the fried chicken, but still be mindful to keep enough fat in the pan to keep things from sticking.

As you complete each batch, place on a paper towel to soak up any excess fat, and serve.  These go great with sweet potato fries and a little HFCS-free ketchup or steak sauce (if you can find the latter).  Enjoy!

1 – A little side-note here – if you have one of those cheap wood or plastic meat tenderizer/mallets with the wimpy little bumps on it like mine, don’t bother using it here.  As I’ve proven to myself time and time again, it is only effective at increasing your aggravation and splattering meat “juice” all over the kitchen (and you), and will have little effect on actually tenderizing the meat.  Instead, use the edge of a sturdy plate in a chopping motion on the meat – working across it in one direction and then 90 degrees to the first row of chops (do this on a sturdy wood or poly cutting board).  You’ll make less mess and actually end up with the results you want.  Or get one of those nice tenderizers that has lots of sharp metal spikes.