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Cube Steak substitute

Best substitute

Top or bottom round steak, pounded thin yourself

Use the same amount by weight as the cube steak you are replacing

Best for chicken-fried steak

Close match

The exact same meat cube steak is made from, before the machine touches it, which makes this the true substitute rather than an approximation.

Other cube steak substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Cube Steak with ratios

  1. 2Thin-cut sirloin or flat iron steak

    Close match

    Use the same amount by weight

    A step up in quality that needs less mechanical help because it is naturally more tender.

    What changes
    Best for
    smothered steak, steak and onions, pan-fried steak with gravy

    Noticeably more tender and more beefy-tasting than cube steak, and it does not go dry as quickly, so this is the swap that makes the dish better rather than merely equal. Pound it lightly to even the thickness, not to break it down. It costs more and it will not have the pitted surface, so classic chicken-fried breading clings a little less enthusiastically.

  2. 3Boneless pork chops or pork cutlets, pounded thin

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by weight

    A common and completely legitimate swap in Southern cooking, where country-fried pork is a dish in its own right.

    What changes
    Best for
    chicken-fried steak, breaded cutlets, cream gravy dishes

    Milder and slightly sweeter than beef, so a plate of country-fried pork tastes lighter and less mineral. The cream gravy carries the dish either way, so most people at the table will not object, but if you want it to read as beef, add a splash of Worcestershire or a spoonful of beef base to the gravy. Cook to 145 F.

  3. 4Ground beef patties (for Salisbury steak specifically)

    Different texture

    Use the same amount by weight

    The right answer when the cube steak in your recipe is being smothered in onion gravy rather than breaded and fried.

    What changes
    Best for
    Salisbury steak, hamburger steak, smothered beef patties

    This changes the dish from a slice of steak to a tender patty, so the chew disappears entirely and the texture becomes soft and uniform. For Salisbury steak that is arguably the traditional form anyway. Mix in an egg and a couple of tablespoons of breadcrumbs per pound so the patties hold together in the gravy. Do not use this for chicken-fried steak, where breading a loose patty falls apart.

  4. 5Chicken or turkey breast cutlets, pounded thin

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by weight

    A leaner, cheaper option that works because most cube steak recipes are really recipes about breading and gravy.

    What changes
    Best for
    chicken-fried steak style dishes, breaded cutlets, family meals with picky eaters

    Much milder and considerably leaner, so the beefy background flavor is gone and the meat can dry out fast. It is genuinely good in a crisp breading with cream gravy, which is the same dish chicken-fried steak has always been. Season the flour more aggressively with black pepper and a little poultry seasoning, and pull it off the heat at 165 F, which happens quickly at a quarter inch.

  5. 6Chuck steak, pounded and cooked slowly (least-good option)

    Different texture

    Use the same amount by weight

    Worth naming honestly because chuck is often the only cheap beef left, but it does not want to be cooked like cube steak.

    What changes
    Best for
    smothered steak simmered in gravy, slow-cooker steak and gravy

    Chuck is full of connective tissue, and pounding it does not remove that. Fried fast, it comes out chewy and gristly. It only works if you change the method: brown it, then let it simmer covered in the gravy for 60 to 90 minutes so the collagen melts. The result is delicious but it is a braise, not a five-minute skillet dinner, so do not choose it on a weeknight.

What is Cube Steak?

Cube Steak is Cube steak, also sold as cubed steak, minute steak or tenderized round steak, is a thin slice of lean beef, usually top or bottom round, that a butcher has run through a machine that pounds shallow dents into it to break up the muscle fibers.

Cooking tips

  • The whole point of cube steak is thinness. A quarter inch is the target, and the honest test is that you should be able to see the shape of your hand through the meat when you hold it up to a light. Anything thicker and no amount of pounding rescues it.
  • Pound between two layers of plastic wrap or inside a zip-top bag. Bare meat tears under a mallet, and the plastic also stops raw beef spattering across your counter.
  • Cube steak and every substitute here cook in roughly two to three minutes a side in a hot skillet, and they turn tough and dry if you go longer. There is no medium-rare option and no benefit to lingering: get colour, then get it out.
  • If your substitute has a smooth surface rather than the machine's pits, dredge in seasoned flour, dip in buttermilk or egg, then dredge again, and let the coated meat rest five minutes so the flour hydrates and glues itself on before it hits the oil.
  • Do not skip the pan drippings. Cube steak is lean and mild, so most of the flavor in chicken-fried steak or smothered steak lives in the browned bits you make a gravy from. Whatever you substitute, brown it hard in the same pan you will build the gravy in.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just make cube steak myself?

Yes, and it is the best answer. Buy top round or bottom round steak, cut it into portions, and pound each one to a quarter inch with a mallet, rolling pin or heavy pan between sheets of plastic wrap. That is precisely what the butcher's tenderizing machine does, only with shallower dents.

Can I just leave it out?

No. In chicken-fried steak, Salisbury steak or smothered steak the cube steak is the dish, not a supporting ingredient. What you can drop is the specific label: any thin, tenderized piece of lean meat cooked the same way will give you the meal.

Is cube steak the same as minute steak?

In most American supermarkets, yes, the two labels sit on the same product and mean a thin tenderized slice of round. Confusingly, some stores use minute steak for any thin fast-cooking steak with no tenderizing at all, so check whether the surface is dented. If it is smooth, pound it yourself before you cook it.

Can I use a regular steak instead of cube steak?

Only if you make it thin. A thick sirloin or ribeye cooked in a cube steak recipe will either be raw in the middle or, cooked through, dry and grey. Slice it thin, pound it to a quarter inch, and it works well, with better flavor than cube steak has.

Why is my cube steak substitute tough?

Almost always one of two things: it was too thick, or it cooked too long. Lean beef sliced thin goes tender in two or three minutes a side and then keeps getting tougher every minute after that. If you want a cut that is naturally chewy, like chuck, the fix is not more pounding but simmering it in gravy for an hour.

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