I know, I know. The name is a real doozy. But this was such a delicious meal, I am not even worried about it. Last weekend was a “clean out our freezer” weekend, and the plethora of cube steak we discovered made for an exciting attempt at a new recipe. A few Google searches later, we had enough inspiration to make a trip to the store and get what we needed. It’s a hunter’s take on an old classic with more than a few alterations, and definitely worth a try!

INGREDIENTS

Venison cube steak – about 1 lb
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
1/2 lb pasta
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
2 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh mozzarella, cut into slices
salt and pepper to taste

Oh! And I almost forgot. A certain someone surprised me with a fantastic new cast iron skillet to continue my cooking adventures, and this was the perfect inaugural meal to break it in. Thank you, Wuan!

So, if you’ve got one, use it. Definitely use it.

HOW TO:

1. Start getting that skillet hot with a tablespoon of olive oil. Chop the onion, toss it in there, and let it do its thing until it gets some good color on it and softens. Add in the garlic as well. Now would also be a good time to get your water boiling for the pasta, as the cube steak only takes a few minutes to cook.

Gahh I just love that thing.

2. Once the onions have some color, remove from the skillet and set aside. DON’T rinse it out. Keep it nice and hot on the range, even adding a little more olive oil to coat the bottom. Snag your ingredients together for the cube steak. In a bowl, mix together the flour, bread crumbs, Parmesan, and seasoning until combined. In another bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork until they are beaten, and season with salt and pepper. Then start dunkin’ and passin’ the cube steak. Oh, also, drop your pasta in the salted, boiling water if you haven’t already. I can be so forgetful.

Super easy, I am telling you. Then just let each side of the cube steak cook until the crust is golden brown, and the meat is cooked. Since it’s not chicken that needs to be cooked all the way through, you can leave it a little more rare depending on your preferences. And no, that is not my man-hand.

3. Remove the cube steak from the skillet, and return the onions to it, along with the tomato sauce. The skillet is pretty hot at this point, so it will only take a minute or two for the sauce to get warm and absorb all the flavorful bits left over from the cube steak. Don’t forget about the pasta! It should be al dente by now, so drain it and add it to the sauce as well.

4. Time to plate! I know… Chicken Parm usually goes back in the oven right now to melt the melty mozzarella some more, but I just didn’t do that. With two dogs and a grown man literally drooling right next to me, I needed to make things happen a little more quickly. Create a bed of pasta/sauce and place one or two of the steaks on top, topping the steak with a few mozzarella slices. The heat from everything will start to melt the cheese. If you want, you could be all redneck and nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds to help it along (but be careful not to cook the meat any more!). Then spoon a little more of the extra sauce right on top, and enjoy!

I served ours with some zucchini baked with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and some crusty garlic bread. {Toast slices of a baguette drizzles with a little olive oil in the oven, then remove. While they’re still hot, rub a clove of garlic that has been cut in half all over the tops. The garlic will essentially start to melt into the crispy bread and become.. well, just fantastic.

I should probably think about taking some sort of food photography class, no?

Now, go buy a cast iron skillet if you don’t already have one. Go!