Bistec Empanizado (Cuban Breaded Steak)
This traditional Cuban steak is seasoned to perfection, then breaded and fried to a crisp golden brown. Be prepared to see mouths watering all around you as you fry up this treat.
Ingredients
For the marinade:
- 1.5 lbs Top Sirloin Steak thin cut (At Publix, ask for setting "4" on the meat slicer, this is almost down to 1/8th inch)
- 5-6 cloves fresh garlic minced (avoid jarred garlic for this recipe)
- 1 large yellow onion thinly sliced
- 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
For breading and frying:
- 2 sleeves saltines unsalted
- 1/2 tsp Lawry's garlic salt
- 4 eggs beaten, in a medium bowl
- 2.5 cups oil for frying I use Canola oil
Instructions
To marinate:
- Spread your steaks out on a clean, flat surface (I use a large cutting mat).
- Using your hands, evenly spread all of the garlic onto the surface of your steaks and rub it in gently.
- Sprinkle half of the salt over the surface of your steaks.
- Sprinkle half of the pepper onto the surface of your steaks.
- Sprinkle all of the ground cumin and garlic powder over your steaks.
- Turn the steaks over, and add the remaining salt and pepper to your steaks.
- Turn the steaks back over, and evenly pour the cider vinegar over your steaks.
- Cover the surface of each steak with the sliced onions.
- Stack your steaks until they are all in one pile with onions in-between each layer. Place the stack in a gallon ziploc bag and seal.
- Let the steaks marinate in the fridge for at least one hour, or up to overnight.
For breading and frying:
- In a blender or food processor, blend the saltines until they form a fine powder. Spread half of the powder over a flat plate or in a wide, shallow dish.
- Add the garlic salt to the eggs and beat well.
- Prepare a station with the eggs in a bowl, then the plate of saltine crumbs and the remaining crumbs in a bowl next to it.
- Take out your steaks and separate them from the onion slices.
One steak at a time, do the following:
- Dip the steak in the egg, making sure the whole surface of the steak gets egg on it.
- Lay the steak over the cracker crumbs in the shallow dish and use some of the remaining half of the crumbs to cover the top of the steak. Gently press in the crumbs onto all sides of the steak until the surface is covered. Turn the steak over and ensure that both sides are covered in crumbs. Let the excess crumbs fall back onto the plate, and lay the steak aside. Repeat with all filets.
When you're ready to fry:
- Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium high heat.
- To test the oil's heat, drop in a few cracker crumbs - the oil should immediately get bubbly around the crumbs and begin to fry.
- Once the oil is hot, slowly drop in the steaks, but only in one layer. Do not crowd the pan.
- Fry the steaks for 3 minutes, and then flip to the other side. Fry for 1.5-2 more minutes, making sure the breading is nice and golden brown and crunchy.
- Remove the steaks onto a plate with a paper towel over it to catch the excess oil.
- When you are done frying, remove all but 1 tbsp of the oil from the pan. Saute the onions from the marinade over medium heat until they begin to caramelize.
- Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe can also be used to make regular Cuban steak. Simply skip the breading and frying part. Instead, heat up a skillet with 1 tbsp of Olive Oil over medium high heat. Add in the steaks (not the marinade) in an even layer (you may have to work in batches) and cook just till done (don't overcook!), flipping once. A little searing and browning on the steaks is good, but this should only take a couple of minutes if your steaks are thin enough. Remove the steaks to a separate plate, and cover to keep warm. Add a bit more oil to the pan - pour the marinade and onions into the pan. Cook on medium heat till the onions caramelize and begin to char a bit. Turn off the heat, add steaks back to the pan, and serve.