How to Cook Pork Cube Steak in Air Fryer?

Do you want to make cheaper meat cuts like pork cube steak a more delicious dinner meal? If, yes then stick with us for a while because today, we will reveal how to cook pork cube steak in the air fryer. Your kids will love it, and surely you can make them for your friend’s next party.

You can forget your childhood dry and tough as shoe leather cube steak with our fantastic recipe. Here we will be using different marinades to tenderize the meat. So let’s check out the recipe.

What exactly is a Cube Steak?

Cube steak is among the most visually appealing cuts of meat. Because, rather than appearing like steaks, they resemble connected ground beef. Usually, cube steak comes from the top sirloin or top round part.

The odd look is because they have indeed been tenderized with a meat hammer by the time we encounter them in the supermarket or meat market. As a result, the top is riddled with holes or ridges created by the butcher striking the flesh with a hammer.

Air Fryer Cube Steak Recipe:

The essential part of cooking pork cube steak is marination. The marinade lets the moisture seep into the meat while keeping it tender and moist until you eat it. You can forget that tough and dry cube steak you used to eat in your childhood. Follow the below recipe.

Ingredients in Air Fry Cube Steak

• Cube Steak

You can get one pound of pork cube steak for our recipe. Most probably, you will get four steaks in one pound.

• Olive Oil

The olive is a must since it will keep the meat moisture till the end. ¼ cup olive oil is enough for this recipe.

• Savoury Sauce of your choice

You can go for gluten-free sauce such as Worcestershire sauce. Moreover, you can also get any sauce of your choice that goes well with pork. ¼ cup sauce is enough for this recipe.

• Vinegar

Vinegar helps in flavoring and tenderizing as it breaks down the meat while marinating. Get ¼ cup of vinegar.

• Dijon Mustard

For thickening marinade and perfect blending of all marinade ingredients, get 1 tbsp Dijon mustard.

• Garlic

Garlic is a must for any marination of meat since it adds more flavor to the meat. Plus. It also eliminates the meat smell, so get two cloves of minced garlic for marinating cube steak.

• Salt

You can add salt to your taste. For marination, I prefer using kosher salts.

• Pepper

For perfect savory taste and tangy touch, you can add freshly grounded pepper.

How to make Cube Steak in an Air Fryer?

Step 1: Marinade

Get a bowl and put olive oil, marinating sauce, vinegar, Dijon mustard, and garlic paste into it. Mix them well, so all the ingredients combine. Now pour the marinade on the pork cube steaks and spread them well so that no part of the steak is left uncovered. Rest the steak for an hour or more in the refrigerator. Then, you can leave it for the night so that all the flavor properly seeps into the meat.

Step 2: Prepare for Air frying.

After removing the steak from the refrigerator, you can place them for few minutes so the excess sauce drips off.

Step 3: Preheating Air Fryer

You can preheat the air fryer for best results; otherwise, you can place them in cold air fryer by adding 2-3 minutes to its cook time. For preheating, turn on the air fryer and set the temperature to 400F. Now leave it at this temperature for five minutes.

Step 4: Place the Steak

After the excess sauce drip off the steak, you can place cube steak in the air fryer. Next, place them so that they do not overlap each other or form a single layer. If your air fryer bucket is small, you can air fry in batches as well.

Step 5: Cook and Rest

You can air fry the steak for 400F for 5-7 minutes. You can use a meat probe here as well to check the steak’s internal temperature. When the temperature on the probe shows 145 F, it means your steak is ready. Be mindful that overcooking will lead to dry and hard cube steak, so do not overcook.

After cooking, let the steak rest for five minutes so that it retains its moisture. Now serve it sliced or as a whole with your favorite side dishes.

What to serve with Cube Steak?

You can eat cube steak with your favorite steak sauces. If not a sauce, you can eat them with potato wedges while grabbing your favorite dippings with it. Baked potatoes or mashed potatoes can also taste good with cube steak. If not potatoes, you can air fry other veggies like broccoli or mushrooms with cube steak.

How much time does Cube Steak need to Air Fry?

From preparing marinade to eating the cube steak, you need mostly ten minutes. Although, keeping the marinate cube steak in the refrigerator requires one hour. All in all, cooking cube steak needs only 7 minutes max.

Important Note

• Look for the pre-tenderized cube steak, as it will cook fine.
• Marinate the cube steak for at least one hour as it will render a juicy and soft steak.
• You can cook cube steak in both air fryer and air fryer ovens. If you are to place steak in an air fryer oven, put it in the middle rack of the oven for air frying, as it will evenly cook the steak.
• Every air fryer has its working. Based on your experience with your air fryer, you can set the temperature and everything. While cooking cube steak, do not overcook as it will lead to tough and dry cube steak.
• You can use an air fryer calculator for estimating the time and temperatures for cooking any meat cut.

Bottom line

Cooking pork cube steak in the air fryer is not difficult at all. At first, you might have some trouble knowing the time and temperature to cook, but you will get the hang of it after the first attempt.