I realize that all regions have their own specialty foods as well as their own takes on traditional recipes. When I moved to Illinois, I discovered several such items, including toasted ravioli, horseshoes, and, of course, rattlesnake.
Rattlesnake, which is really no kind of snake at all, is just deep fried steak bites with a lovely buttery dipping sauce. There is a local restaurant that serves this entree as their “claim to fame” and although they are less than forthcoming about the ingredients, I’ve come across a recipe that is pretty darn close, thanks to a friend.
Rattlesnake combines several of my husband’s favorite characteristics in a meal, hence this is a favorite and I whipped it up for him last night.
Rattlesnake
1 large thick cut top sirloin steak, trimmed of all fat and cut into bite size chunks (my friend uses Ribeye, but I am too cheap for that with meat prices being what they are, and the sirloin does just fine)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 cup flour
About 5 good shakes of Cavender’s Greek Seasoning
1 stick butter
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 TB minced garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
First, chunk up the steak into bite sized pieces. Mix the eggs and milk together in a large bowl and let the steak bites soak in the egg wash.
Meanwhile, get your oil heating up, and mix together your dry ingredients in a pie plate, or zip-top bag.
Dredge the soaked beef thoroughly in the breadcrumb mixture, patting the crumbs onto the steak as you go to make a nice crust.
Deep fry in batches until all pieces are golden. 
While frying, melt the butter in a small saucepan and mix the rest of the ingredients in to form the dipping sauce.
Voila! Rattlesnake!
Rattlesnake, which is really no kind of snake at all, is just deep fried steak bites with a lovely buttery dipping sauce. There is a local restaurant that serves this entree as their “claim to fame” and although they are less than forthcoming about the ingredients, I’ve come across a recipe that is pretty darn close, thanks to a friend.
Rattlesnake combines several of my husband’s favorite characteristics in a meal, hence this is a favorite and I whipped it up for him last night.
Rattlesnake
1 large thick cut top sirloin steak, trimmed of all fat and cut into bite size chunks (my friend uses Ribeye, but I am too cheap for that with meat prices being what they are, and the sirloin does just fine)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 cup flour
About 5 good shakes of Cavender’s Greek Seasoning
1 stick butter
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 TB minced garlic
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
First, chunk up the steak into bite sized pieces. Mix the eggs and milk together in a large bowl and let the steak bites soak in the egg wash.
Meanwhile, get your oil heating up, and mix together your dry ingredients in a pie plate, or zip-top bag.
Dredge the soaked beef thoroughly in the breadcrumb mixture, patting the crumbs onto the steak as you go to make a nice crust.
Deep fry in batches until all pieces are golden. While frying, melt the butter in a small saucepan and mix the rest of the ingredients in to form the dipping sauce.Voila! Rattlesnake!
