Country Fried Steak on the Blackstone Griddle
Crispy, golden country fried steak fried right on the Blackstone - a salt-brined cube steak with a triple-crunch flour, panko, and saltine dredge.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 6 beef cube steak pieces tenderized, about 2½ lbs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt for brining
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ tablespoons Spice That or favorite all-purpose seasoning
- 2 teaspoons black pepper for seasoning the meat
- 3 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 17 saltine crackers crushed into crumbs
- 1 tablespoon black pepper for breading mix
- ½ tablespoon salt for breading mix
- 1 cup oil for shallow frying, plus more as needed
- gravy for serving
Instructions
- Salt brine the steak: Set the 6 beef cube steak pieces on a wire rack over a sheet tray. Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt over the top side of each piece. Refrigerate uncovered for about 2 hours.
- Season the meat: Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce to each piece of steak to act as a binder. Season both sides with Spice That or your favorite all-purpose seasoning and a little extra black pepper. Set aside while you build your dredging station.
- Set up the dredging station: In a wide-bottomed bowl, add 1½ cups all-purpose flour, for first dredge bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together 4 large eggs and 1 tablespoon hot sauce. In a third bowl, combine 1½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup panko breadcrumbs, 17 saltine crackers, crushed into crumbs, 1 tablespoon black pepper and ½ tablespoon salt.
- Bread the steak: Working one piece at a time, coat the steak in the flour bowl, then dip in the egg mixture, then press into the final breading mixture to coat. Transfer each piece to a wire cooling rack as you go.
- Let the coating set: Rest the breaded steak on the wire rack for a few minutes while the griddle heats up. This helps the coating firm up before frying.
- Heat the griddle: Preheat your griddle to medium heat, about 375–400°F.
- Add oil and fry: Add about 1 cup oil onto the griddle to shallow fry. Let it heat for a few seconds, then lay the steak pieces down. Use your spatula or scraper to pull extra oil back toward the steak as needed. Fry on the first side about 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Flip and finish: Once the first side is deep golden brown, flip and cook the second side the same way until golden and crispy throughout, about another 3-5 minutes.
- Rest and serve: Transfer the steak to a clean rack and let rest for a minute before serving hot off the griddle.
Notes
- About the heat zones - Griddles often run hotter in some zones than others - rotate pieces as needed so nothing overcooks before the coating is done.
- For tenderizing the beef - If your cube steak is not already tenderized, then take a meat mallet to each piece before salt brining. Some people also like to tenderize their beef a few extra times, even if it comes pre-tenderized.