Pork Cube Steak is a tougher, cheaper cut of pork, often from the shoulder though not necessarily. It is cut like a steak.
It is tenderized, either by:
- Hand-scoring it in both directions;
- Pounding it with a meat mallet; or
- Putting it through a “cuber” machine which scores the meat.
Whichever way (and the mechanical means is most likely), the steak ends up looking like it’s made up of cubes, but it is still actually one piece of meat. The idea is that partially breaking up the tissue in the meat will help to make it less chewy.
Sometimes, the machine will put tiny pin-holes in the meat instead of or in addition to scoring it.
Cooking Tips
Can be fried or braised.