Quick steaks get thumbs up

The grocery store shelves are crowded with quick-to-fix meals these days.

Most of the time The Spokesman-Review food panel tasters like the food well enough but would never mistake it for homemade.

Every once in a while there is an exception. Fast Fixin’s Country Fried Steak and Gravy drew raves from tasters who are normally sticklers for home cooking.

“I would buy it. Delicious,” said Marilyn Moore, who usually claims that homemade is always better.

Nancy Robinson agreed, saying it was better than eating fast food for dinner: “Wow! This is pretty good. You can cut this with your fork. I would buy this.”

The cubed beef is already breaded and cooked. It needs only to only be heated in the microwave, on the stove top or in the oven. (We heated it in the oven so the breading would be crispy.)

The package, found in the freezer section at area supermarkets, also contains a dry mix for gravy that must be prepared. There is a huge line of Fast Fixin’ choices, including Chicken Fried Chicken Breasts.

The tasters disagreed on the merits of the gravy and the breading, but no one gave the dish anything fewer than three stars. Overall, it earned four stars for taste and value. A package of five steaks with gravy sells for $6.99.

“Gravy is great – nice and spicy. The steak on the other hand leaves a little to be desired. If you’re in a hurry, go for it. You probably won’t be disappointed,” Skip Hubbard

But perhaps it was Donald Clegg who summed up best what many people would think if there was chicken-fried steak on the table in 20 minutes.

“Crispy coating but too lightly seasoned and too salty. … Still, I never met a chicken-fried steak I didn’t like. Grind on more black pepper and it’ll be fine,” he said.

Fast Fixin’ Country Fried Steaks with Gravy

Price: $6.99 for a 22.75-ounce package, 5 steaks with gravy

Nutrition per serving: 340 calories, 18 grams fat (4.5 grams saturated, 47 percent fat calories), 18 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrate, 35 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 750 milligrams sodium.

Taste: • • • •

Value: • • • •

Comments: “I would buy it. Delicious.” – Marilyn Moore

“Wow! This is pretty good. You can cut this with your fork. I would buy this. (It’s) better than fast food.” – Nancy Robinson

“Gravy tastes fake and the best flavor seems to come from seasoning on the breading. Meat is nothing to rave about.” – Larry Inman