Chicken Fried Steak Dinner

As some know, and others don’t, I grew up in Central Texas, and I sorely miss some of the rural culinary delights. Fried Chicken livers and Gizzards, Fried Okra, Fried Squash, and most of all Chicken Fried Steak, with that rich pepper cream gravy.

Slap a fried steak on a plate, add a scoop of mashed potatoes, and then smoother it all with gravy, serve with hot, fresh buttermilk biscuits, and I am in hog heaven.

Occasionally, I manage to convince Madam BadWolf, to put this together for me, or more often I wait until she is on detached duty as a grandmother, and cook it for myself.

I use the Original Bad Wolf seasoned flour here, which is good as a dredge for anything, that walks, flies, swims, slitters, or crawls and gets fried.

And Yes, that is a LOT of deep-fried greases, so do note that I do this OCCASIONALLY.

From Wikipedia:

Chicken-fried steak, also known as country-fried steak or CFS, is an American breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of beefsteak (most often tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. It is sometimes associated with the Southern cuisine of the United States. It is breaded and fried with a technique similar to the more common fried chicken, hence “chicken-fried”. When deep-fried, it is usually referred to as “chicken-fried steak”. Pan-fried versions are typically referred to as “country fried steak”.

Chicken-fried steak resembles the Austrian dish Wiener schnitzel and the Italian dish cotoletta alla milanese, which is a tenderized veal or pork cutlet, coated with flour, eggs, chicken stock cube, and bread crumbs, and then fried. It is also similar to the recipe for Scottish collops.

Typically, in Texas and surrounding states, chicken fried steak is either deep fried or fried in a thick layer of oil in a pan and served with traditional peppered milk gravy.

Chicken Fried Steak

From the South – Steak, Pounded, dredged in seasoned flour, and fried.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine Southern

Servings 4 servings

Calories 1002 kcal

Equipment

• Breading Station, 2 bowls, flour, and egg.

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Seasoned Flour

• 2 cups AP Flour
• 2/3 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Thyme Dried
• 1/2 tsp Basil Dried
• 1/3 tsp Oregano Dried
• 1 tsp Celery Salt
• 2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Dried Mustard
• 2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper Optional

Steak

• 2 lb Cube Steak Thin Cut, Pounded
• Neutral Oil As needed
• 2 ea Eggs Large
• 1 cup Whole Milk

Gravy

• 1/3 Cup Seasoned Flour From Above
• 3 Cups Whole Milk
• Salt and Pepper To Taste

Instructions

 

Seasoned Flour

• Mix all, and store in an airtight container

Steak

• Set a breading station, milk and egg in one pan, seasoned flour in another
• Work with one piece of meat at a time. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and black pepper, then place it in the flour mixture. Turn to coat.
• Place the meat into the milk/egg mixture, turning to coat. Finally, place it back in the flour and turn to coat (dry mixture/wet mixture/dry mixture).
• Place the breaded meat on the clean plate, then repeat with the remaining meat.
• A 15-minute rest will allow the breading to "set".
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Cook the meat, 3 pieces at a time, (don't crowd the pan) until the edges start to look golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
• Remove the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and keep them warm by covering lightly with another plate or a sheet of foil.

Gravy

• After all the meat is fried, pour off the grease into a heatproof bowl. Without cleaning the skillet, return it to the stove over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cup of the grease back to the skillet and allow it to heat up.
• When the grease is hot, sprinkle the flour evenly over the grease.
• Using a whisk, mix the flour with the grease, creating a golden-brown paste. Add more flour if it looks overly greasy
• Keep cooking until the roux reaches a deep golden brown color.
• Pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Scrape the bottom of the skillet
• Cook, whilst whisking, until the gravy is smooth and thick, 5 to 10 minutes. 
• Taste, season, and balance the flavor (Go a little heavy on the pepper, it is a pepper cream gravy.)

Assembly

• Add a portion of mashed potatoes, and a steak to a plate, smoother with gravy, and serve.

Notes

A cheap and hearty meal.  There are restaurants built on Chicken fried steak, biscuits, and pepper cream gravy in the South.

Items to note:  

The 15-minute rest gives the flour gluten time to set up and bind to the meat. 

One can add a third bowl of panko to the breading setup, dredging in flour, egg/milk, then panko, but I’m a bit more traditional with a double dredge in seasoned flour.

Nutrition

Calories: 1002kcalCarbohydrates: 85gProtein: 67gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 194mgSodium: 4141mgPotassium: 1312mgFiber: 5gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 627IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 537mgIron: 15mg

Keyword Fried, Seasoned Flour, Steak

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