Steam Fry

Steam Fry is a traditional Native American dish. .

A friend had posted on Facebook asking if any of his Southern Native friends knew the recipe.

Being a Southern Plains Native - I had never heard of Steam Fry so, I went on a little mission to find it.

I asked my Dad as well as several of my fellow Southern Natives and they came out of the woodwork telling me how to make it. Why have I not had or heard of this glorious dish before?

As with most Native recipes - the "recipe" for Steam Fry is just a little bit of this - a little bit of that and technique varies. There are also variations on what to serve it with - Fry Bread, ontop of sliced bread, with a side of fried taters.  Of course typically it is made on an open fire in a large cast iron pot but some told me they made it the oven or low and slow in a slow cooker or roaster oven.

I chose to make it in a slow cooker. Low and slow. Let me repeat that - low and slow.

Did I mention.. low and slow?. Don't rush perfection. Trust me.

So, I took a big package of beef stew meat and placed it in the slow cooker, seasoned it with garlic powder, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and a few shakes of some steak seasoning. I added 3 cubes of beef bouillon (I highly recommend Knorr brand Beef Bouillon which you will find in your ethnic/Hispanic food section - it is a much higher quality and less salty version of your typical bouillon cubes)

I added water until it just covered the meat.

Again let me repeat - low and slow. Put the lid on - and walk away. Take a nap, do some laundry - twiddle your thumbs but just leave it alone.

I cooked mine on low for 9 hours and it was very tender.

Low and slow. This is key.

After the 9 hours I used a slotted spoon and fished out all the chunks of meat and set those aside in a bowl.

Now, I was told to make a gravy with this broth with flour but, I'm not a fan of flour based gravy's - corn starch is my favorite thickener. So I made a cornstarch slurry and added it to the crockpot and whisked it in. Its hard to say exactly how much to use, just make a small batch up and if its too thin - make some more. Now add your meat back in and serve it up! 

I served it with mashed potatoes, hot rolls and green beans slow cooked with bacon.
Happy Happy miserable bellies.

mic drop.
walk away.