In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, hot sauce, and eggs. Set aside.
Pat cube steaks with a paper towel, removing as much moisture as possible.
Season with the remaining salt and pepper.
Dredge the cube steaks in the flour mixture, lightly shake off any excess, then dredge in the buttermilk/egg mixture, letting the excess drip off and then once again in the flour mixture again lightly shaking off any excess.
Place steaks on a sheet pan, or large platter.
If there is enough of the flour and buttermilk/egg, dip steaks in both a second time, if not press any of the remaining flour into the steaks. Making sure that the steaks are completely coated.
Let set for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 225°.
After the 10 minutes, heat the oil in a heavy skillet or large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. How much oil you use depends on the size of the skillet. You want the oil about ¼ inch deep.
Test the oil by dropping a bit of breading into the oil. If the oil sizzles and bubbles up around the breading, it's ready. Look for the oil to be glistening but not smoking. About 320-340°.
Place two steaks at a time in the skillet and fry 3-4 minutes on each side.
Do not fry more than two steaks at a time. Do not flip more than once or the breading will fall off.
Remove fried steaks from pan and place on a paper towel lined pan or oven proof platter and place in preheated oven and prepare the gravy (see recipe below).
Chef's notes: You can make buttermilk by adding 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in the bottom of a 2 cup liquid measuring cup and fill to the 1 ½ cup line with whole milk. Stir slightly and let set for 5-7 minutes.