Saturday, July 2, 2011

Chicken Fried Steak


Every once in a while, we indulge in some good old fashioned down home comfort food.  Chicken Fried Steak is just such an indulgence.  It really is quite simple to make and relatively quick.  It is perfect if you need a full-out Sunday dinner on short notice.

First, you start with Cube Steak.  Cube steak is just a steak that has been tenderized by a butcher, or you, in the comfort of your own kitchen.  The steak should be about 1/2 inch thick by the time you are done tenderizing it.

Cube Steak
Dip your steaks, one at a time, in a mixture of 2 eggs and 1 1/2 Cups milk (if you have a lot of steaks, you will need to crack more eggs and add more milk).

Egg/Milk mixture

Dipping steak in milk
After you have dipped the steak in the milk and egg mixture, dredge it in a flour mixture consisting of about 3 Cups of flour, 1 1/2 tsp. salt (or seasoning salt), 1/2 tsp. pepper and 1 tsp. paprika (make more for a lot of steaks).  After you dredge the steak in the flour mixture dip it in the egg mixture again (yes, even with the flour all over it!) and then re-dredge in the flour mixture (your fingers are going to be soooo messy!).  Double dipping really makes a nice "crust".

Flour and spices

Dipping the chuck steak
Lay the dredged steaks on a cookie sheet or plate until you are ready to fry them.

Dipped steaks awaiting the frying pan
While you are dredging, have 1/2 to 3/4 Cup oil (depending on the size of your skillet) heating on the stove (about medium-high).  After you have dredged all of your steaks and the oil is hot put steaks in oil (make sure they do not brown too fast - or turn the oil down).  Fry for about 5 minutes then turn over in oil.  I always use two spatulas to turn the steaks, one to flip and the other to catch and ease the steaks into the oil (I hate being burned!).  Cook for another 5 minutes.  I will often turn the steaks another time or two to keep cooking them and making sure they are browned nicely on both side.  Remove to a serving platter.

Frying the first side

Frying the other side
After you have removed the steaks from the frying pan, drain the oil into a bowl and return about 2 Tablespoons of the oil back into the pan that you used to fry the steaks.  I always like to add about 2 Tablespoons of butter to the grease, to add a little flavor.  When it comes to gravy, I always take the easy way out, and just add a little flour to the grease and stir and cook.  It usually takes about 1/4 C of flour to make the grease "pasty".  After I have stirred in the flour, I continue to stir and cook for a minute so the gravy tastes cooked and not like raw flour.  I then add milk and stir, so that lumps do not form.  As the gravy thickens, I add more milk.  Continue to thicken and add milk until the gravy reaches "gravy" consistency.  I add salt and pepper, to taste, and if the gravy still needs a little something, I add a little beef soup base.  Keep adding spices until the gravy tastes divine, and then you are ready for a little down home comfort food!

Melting butter in 2 T frying grease

Stir, stir, stir

Adding soup base and spices

Perfectly divine gravy!
Next time you need a perfect Sunday Dinner - you have got to try Chicken Fried Steak!

15 comments:

  1. Our family loves this every once in a while too. We like to have with Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Salad and Garden Vegetables.

    It sure is one of those wonderful comfort foods.
    Thanks for the great photos.

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  2. Thanks a million! I just love your recipes - so simple and down to earth - and I really appreciate the time and effort it takes to photograph each step to share with us. I can't wait to try this myself.

    God Bless,
    Janet in MA

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  3. This is one of my absolute favorite meals!

    CFS circa 1844-1850 - The origin of the Chicken-Fried Steak probably comes from the German people who settled in Texas from 1844 to 1850. As Wiener Schnitzel is a popular German dish that is made from veal, and because veal was never popular in Texas and beef was, the German immigrants adapted their popular dish to use the tougher cuts of beef available to them.
    Tenderized round steak is usually used.
    Although not official, the dish is considered the state dish of Texas. According to a Texas Restaurant Associate, it is estimated that 800,000 plus orders of Chicken-Fried Steak are served just in Texas every day, not counting any prepared at home.

    notutopia

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  4. And, where do you live again? Never mind, I'll just follow my nose, I'm showing up for supper!!!!

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  5. The only thing I do different is cut a 1/2 lb or so of bacon into small pieces and cook until almost crisp. I put the bacon bits aside for garnish on the potatoes (or sometimes put about half in the gravy. I cook the chicken fried steak in the bacon grease (add butter if you need more) then add flour to the grease and make a rue and add a can of chicken broth and you get awesome gravy. Bacon makes everything better.

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  6. If we have it available I do my second dredging through crushed cornflakes, that makes a really yummy crust

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  7. Thanks, Enola. I haven't made chicken fried steak in ages, and I have some cube steak in the freezer. I think I will cook some up later this week. I appreciate your pics and instructions with the side comments. It makes your post so much more personal.

    http://simpleeverydayliving.blogspot.com/

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  8. OMGoodness, how I love chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. I can almost smell the delicious aroma from here - even a day later. LOL

    Notutopia, I so enjoy your historical background info, thanks for providing it. Remember when immigrants used to adapt to America, rather than vice versa?

    NoCal Gal

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  9. Just need to add some home fries (potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion, bell pepper).

    True comfort food!

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  10. My mom used to make this for us when I was young. She sometimes would add a cup or so of cheese to the gravy for an extra treat--yum.

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  11. ooohhhhh comfort food of the deep south...and always served with a plate heaped with tender fluffy biscuits.

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  12. Chicken Fried Steak! Haven't eaten any of that since I was a teenager...gotta have some Tater Tots to go with it..

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  13. Ok, stupid question here from the southern hemisphere. Does the chicken part relate to the eggs or the fact that it looks like fried chicken? Around here we'd call that crumbed steak.
    Just wondering.
    Amanda

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  14. Amanda;
    It's not a stupid question - really. It is called chicken fried steak because the breading process is identical to fried chicken, hence the name "chicken fried steak".
    Enola

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  15. Enola,
    Thanks so much for your blog. I read it frequently and enjoy every one. I made your Chicken Fried Steak last night and my husband loved it! I had never made it before, and he loved the gravy, too. Thanks again!

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