Family Chow Hall

Try something different with your Sirloin Tip Steak

June 26th, 2006

First of all, I will give you a peek into some upcoming posts:

Spinach Cheese Quesadillas
Simple Strawberry Jam
Salsa
Peach Cobbler
Paella

You never know when you’ll be cruising through the aisles of your favorite grocery, determined to stick to your list, when inspiration suddenly strikes - usually in the form of a sale.

Saturday afternoon, I was doing just that when I spotted a sale on something I’d never heard of before — Milanesa. It was a package of very thinly sliced Sirloin Tip Steaks. Intrigued, I could not resist the chance to learn and try something new and to offer a different experience to my family. I put the Milanesa meat into my cart and finished shopping.

Once home, I Googled Milanesa and learned the basics - it is a South American dish of breaded and fried beef. The South Americans got the idea from Milan, (not sure on the history here - probably from the days of exploration) hence the name.

Basically, Milanesa turned out to be what I would call Chicken-Fried Steak or the beef version of breaded veal. I glanced at a few recipes for Milanesa to get the basic idea of how to prepare it and what to serve with it.

Below is the way I prepared it. Feel free to substitue cracker crumbs or some other crunchy crumbs for the corn flakes. I happened to already have the corn flakes (NOT frosted flakes) on hand and it worked out well.

Milanesa, or Chicken-Fried Steak

1 1/2 lb. thinly sliced Sirloin Tip Steak or other beef
2 eggs
1 c. crushed corn flakes
1 c. bread crumbs
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 t. paprika
olive oil

1. Use your food chopper to crush and combine the crumbs and the spices. This makes the crumb coating. Dump it into a shallow bowl and set aside.

2. Beat the eggs in another shallow bowl and set aside.

3. Heat some oil - be generous, enough to cover the bottom - in a large skillet and set on medium to med. high heat.

4. Cut the meat into serving sized pieces. My 1.2 pounds made 6 portions.

5. One at a time, dip the meat into the egg, then coat it with the crumbs and place in the skillet. If it doesn’t sizzle right away, your skillet’s not hot enough yet.

6. Fry, turning once, about 1 minute per side. The meat cooks quickly because it’s so thin.

7. Serve - I would suggest mashed potatoes and a vegetable, or some Spanish rice and corn or beans if you’re going for the Mexican feel. My hubby made macaroni and cheese while I was cooking this. It was a quick, after-church meal that we all loved.

Enjoy!

Entry Filed under: Beef, Italian, Recipes, Supper