Crusted steak question

Well this is certainly something I've never heard of before haha.  I'd say that if you want to continue in this manner to simply pulverize your chips or cheetos in a food processor and then season your steaks with the powder.  You will need to omit salt as these snacks are nothing but salt.  I do however suspect they will burn.

 

Better yet, forget the preservative-filled snack route and invest in some actual spices instead.  You'll like cayenne, smoked hot paprika, ancho chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, hot sauce, sriracha, etc.  Make a rub out of black pepper, cayenne, smoked paprika and rub on your steak along with some salt and some garlic powder.  I bet it will taste much better than fritos.

The attempt I would probably make would be along the lines of what Koukouvagia mentions, but a little different.  Start with a bound egg breading....flour on a thinner steak (1/2"), dip in beaten egg and then the crust of pulverized Fritos (the corn should be substantial enough to hold up).  Shallow fry this like you would fried chicken, a slightly lower temp in shortening.  Depending on how you want your steak cooked.  The tricky part of this is most likely that seasoning will contain a large proportion of sugar which will caramelize more readily and pass through to burned so you have to be careful with your times and temperatures to pull it off without having a burned mess and at the same time reaching the proper done-ness. I'd serve it with gravy fries and a milkshake....'cause why not?

That's my go-to.  I saw on an a show there is a restaurant close to Vancouver (If memory serves me correct) where everything on the menu comes from within a 20 mile radius or something of that nature.  Flavors are actually contrived by clever combinations of local ingredients.  I personally like to make just about everything from scratch, as much as I can.  My point in all of this is, it would be good to investigate the flavors you are experiencing and try to match those flavors into a spice mix, which is I think what Koukouvagia is getting at.  I haven't tasted those chips so I can't offer input.  I am on occasion tested with one aspect: MSG or no?  There are many things that contain sufficient glutamates to reproduce the effect but sometimes those foods don't work into the overall scheme of what I am trying to accomplish.  What I have found is that you only need a very tiny amount in food, which is most likely well below the commonly used threshold in snack foods.  I would consider it a fun challenge to replicate the flavor if that is all you are shooting for...but the idea of crushing up some fritos does have intrigue at least to satisfy the curiosity. :D

What, exactly, is it you're trying do do? Are you going for chicken fried steak or grilled steak? They're completely different things calling for different cuts of meat as well as different preps.

BDL

Sounds like a takeoff on chicken fried steak but mexican style. If done right and not burned could be good The spice flavor can be duplicated simply read ingredients and try to duplicate. You can most likely buy thm all from a good spice purveyor. Then you can use the spice and forget the chips.. Cheaper too

I'm not getting what you mean by a crunchy crust. If you want a crust like fried chicken, you're going to end up breading and frying the steak. If you want a steak like you'd get by grilling it in a pan or on a "barbeque grill" -- not that you can't develop some good texture with a dry rub and a sear -- you're not going to get anything very crunchy or particularly crusty. But language can be trickier than cooking techniques. Sometimes the crystalized sugars on meat which has been seared or otherwise browned is referred to as a "crust." Hence my confusion as to your meaning.

If you're willing to cook something more like chicken fried steak (which is going to have a crust like... wait for it... fried chicken), that's pretty easy. Start with a relatively thin steak, and tenderize it by pounding or using a jaccard. Simply crush the corn or potato chips of your choice, and use them for a breading, You can either use a three-pan breading of flour - egg - crushed chips; or a one pan breading of the crushed chips, perhaps mixed with some ordinary flour. Then fry the steak in fairly hot oil that's about 1/3 of the steaks' height.

On the other hand, you might want to consider "blackened" steak which will not only give you a lot of texture but allow you to cook "black and blue," without the intense heat of a professional broiler or a grill with a fresh, live fire.

To blacken a steak, coat it very well with the spice rub of your choice -- you'll want to use a lot of chili (probably chili de arbol), salt and garlic in yours, or you could use any spicy, cajun blakening rub and increase the amount of chili -- rub the rub into the steak, and allow the steak to sit for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet until it's very, very hot. Sear the steak on both sides until it's completely black on the exterior. If the steak needs further cooking to reach your desired degree of doneness (blackened steak is usually cooked no more than mid-rare), finish it in the oven on a baking sheet or a fresh pan. Note: If you keep the steak in the cast iron pan you used for the initial sear, the down side will become tough as leather.

Breading and frying ala chicken frying is the only way to get real crunch. Blackening is the next, best bet.

BDL

BDL

Do you have a picture of a Jaccard? You would be surprised how many people do not know it's function and what it does in particular home cooks.  Thanx Ed

 

Thanks  Pete  I dont have one home.

For the benefit of those who do not know what this is and it's function 

Its a hand held spring loaded needle apperatus that you put over a cut meat and tap. The needles penetrate and break down the fiber of the meat, therefore making it tender. I have used it mostly on veal for scallopine or cutlet as well as cube steaks made from chuck. . It makes meat chewable and is a good investment for all.

 

 

P/S  Commercially they also make an electric model .