Pellet Smoker Cooking: Steak Fingers and Spaghetti Squash

Aug 22 2013

I have not fixed these in over 20 years. When the kids were still home I could hardly get them to eat steak. Now ole Dad needed steak once in a while so one day I cut some round steak in strips. I dusted it lightly in flour with salt and pepper then browned them in a little oil. The kids loved these.

I bought a 2 lb. round steak at my butchers that looked like it had some nice marbling. I cut it in half and vacuum sealed half and froze, it will make some good baked steak later. I trimmed the fat and sliced on a bias about ½ thick slices. I splashed some Worcestershire sauce over and a little salt and pepper. It was in the fridge about an hour before cooking. I didn’t season too heavy since I wanted to try my #5 Umami dust on it at the table.

Our daughter in law had given me a spaghetti squash that would go good with the steak. I cut it in half and removed the seeds; brushed with butter and sprinkled on some Penzey’s sandwich sprinkle. I preheated the Traeger to 325 deg. and put the squash cut side down on my grill grates, smooth side. The squash was on the small side and would normally take about 1 ½ hrs. in the oven at 350 deg. I checked after 45 minutes and it was almost done so turned them and placed on the smoker grates.

I did the steak fingers on the grill grates about 5 minutes per side. I served it with a salad and some of my fresh tomatoes and blue cheese dressing.

It all tasted pretty good. My steak fingers were a little overdone; 2 to 3 minutes per side would have been enough. The #5 Umami dust was good applied at the table but not worth the $10 I paid for 3.5 ounces.

Steak fingers are something you can do many ways; use sirloin, round, flank or skirt steak. Cut them any size you want. Use your favorite seasoning, marinade, or even BBQ sauce. You could even bread them and do like country fried steak; when I searched on them I saw where they are a favorite in Idaho and they have a fast food chain that does them.

Round Steak, I use the right half