One of the problems with modern North American living is that we're always on the go. I want to slow it down as much as possible, and that includes being more conscious of what is going into our bodies.
We have a HORRIBLE habit of grabbing our next meal out if we're running errands or playing at the park.
Because this is killing the budget, and probably not that great for our bodies, I have decided to start bringing our own food with us. Granted, this meal isn't MUCH healthier than something you'd get at a fast food restaurant, it is much cheaper, and I know every ingredient that went into it.
To start, we'll gather the ingredients: Steak (any is good - I used cheap strip steak), seasoning salt, flour (I used whole wheat, but just use whatever is on hand), and oil.
Next, the directions!
The first thing that you'll want to do is tenderize your steak. To do this, grab a meat mallet and pound all the love you have for your family into this thing. Just whack it until it looks decently pulverized, flip it and do it some more.
Next, you'll want to slice your pulverized... er... tenderized steak into strips. I find that for eating purposes its good to look at the grain of your meat and to cut it so that the muscle fibers are running sideways on your cuts (so that they run left-to-right on the skinny side). Either way will work, but this seems to make it easier to bite a piece off if you didn't pound enough.
Next, you will want to heat about 1/2" of oil in a deep frying pan on about med to med-hi heat. While that is heating, dump out about a cup of flour into a bowl and pat your steak strips in the flour mixture several times, making sure it is well coated.
You can repeat this process of dredging in flour once more before putting the strips in the oil. RIGHT before putting them in the oil, sprinkle with just enough seasoned salt as you would on your finished product. Don't over-season - a little goes a long way. Feel free to add pepper at this point too, if you like!
(I bought our seasoned salt from Freddy's since we loved it so much. You can check out their website to see if there is one near you. It ran about $3.50).
Your steak fingers should start gently sizzling right away when you carefully put them in the oil. You will notice that it "looks" like your flour batter is being washed away by the oil, but its not. Its just becoming a little transparent. It is still there. No worries.
When you notice that the edges are browned (just a few min), feel free to flip your steak fingers over to cook on the other side a few minutes more. Remove when both sides appear golden.
We don't use paper towels hardly at all, but they are nice to have around after you fry something so that it can absorb the excess oil. We try to use them sparingly for things like this but they sure do come in handy sometimes.
You'll notice that again, it "appears" as though the breading is "gone" but its not. Closer inspection shows a thin breaded coating that gives a crisp, breaded taste and feel without the bulk of a greasy batter.
If you haven't yet, now would be a great time to wash your hands!
To make this a "to-go" dinner, I created foil packets for the steak fingers to rest in.
To make them I unrolled about 2 feet of foil and folded it in half once to make it more durable. Then I folded it in half once more to form the back and front of the pocket. Next, roll in the sides of the pocket, twice on each side.
Then, fill with your goodies.
(yum!)
Finally, fold over the top of your pocket, and you now have a sealed, heat-saving, non-messy container to carry your "to-go" meal in. (don't forget the ketchup packet if you have one from leftover takeout!)
As a final step, I took our leftover dredging flour and added about 1/4 cup of milk (just add a few Tbs at a time until it resembles coarse crumbs). Then I threw it out back for the birds, rather than just throwing it away.
Enjoy!
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