Chicken Fried Steak

[Meat-O-Rama]

Any chicken fried steak masters here? I love me some CFS, but my one attempt at making it was a disaster...

I'd love tips/recipes to try making it again.

[theogt]

I'm an expert at eating chick fried steak. As to making it, haven't a clue.

[Sam I Am]

One of the best meals on the planet. It does not exist in the northeast though...

...not that my wife would allow me to eat it.

[Hostile]

Oh I will be watching this thread. I too love it, but my efforts have not been very good.

[SaltwaterServr]

Originally Posted by Meat-O-Rama

Any chicken fried steak masters here? I love me some CFS, but my one attempt at making it was a disaster...

I'd love tips/recipes to try making it again.

The secret, at least my secret, is buttermilk.

[Yeagermeister]

Never been a fan mainly because I don't care for gravy.

Yeah that's right a fat man that does like gravy.

[Sam I Am]

Originally Posted by Yeagermeister

Yeah that's right a fat man that does like gravy.

Well, obviously you are one ****ed up mother****er.

Even skinny people love gravy!!!

[CowboyMike]

I learned from the best, my dad.

How did you make yours? Maybe I can pinpoint what went wrong?

[Meat-O-Rama]

Originally Posted by CowboyMike

I learned from the best, my dad.

How did you make yours? Maybe I can pinpoint what went wrong?

I used the following recipe. The batter didn't stick, and it came apart and made the oil all dirty.
Ingredients

• Steak
• 3cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/8teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 1cup buttermilk
• 6 cube steaks , about 5 ounces each, pounded to 1/3 inch thickness
• 4 - 5cups peanut oil
• Cream Gravy
• 1 medium onion , minced
• 1/8teaspoon dried thyme
• 2medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press
• 3tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 2cups whole milk
• 3/4teaspoon table salt
• 1/4teaspoon ground black pepper
• Cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. 1. For the steaks: Measure the flour, 5 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and cayenne into a large shallow dish. In a second large shallow dish, beat the egg, baking powder, and baking soda; stir in the buttermilk (the mixture will bubble and foam).
2. 2. Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and sprinkle each side with salt and pepper to taste. Drop the steaks into the flour and shake the pan to coat. Shake excess flour from each steak, then, using tongs, dip the steaks into the egg mixture, turning to coat well and allowing the excess to drip off. Coat the steaks with flour again, shake off the excess, and place them on the wire rack.
3. 3. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, set a second wire rack over a second rimmed baking sheet, and place the sheet on the oven rack; heat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a large plate with a double layer of paper towels. Meanwhile, heat 1 inch of oil in a large (11-inch diameter) Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Place three steaks in the oil and fry, turning once, until deep golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes (oil temperature will drop to around 335 degrees). Transfer the steaks to the paper towel-lined plate to drain, then transfer them to the wire rack in the oven. Bring the oil back to 375 degrees and repeat the cooking and draining process (use fresh paper towels) with the three remaining steaks.
4. 4. For the gravy: Carefully pour the hot oil through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot. Return the browned bits from the strainer along with 2 tablespoons of frying oil back to the Dutch oven. Turn the heat to medium, add the onion and thyme, and cook until the onion has softened and is beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the flour to the pan and stir until well combined and starting to dissolve, about 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the milk, salt, pepper, and cayenne; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until thickened (gravy should have a loose consistency—it will thicken as it cools), about 5 minutes.
5. 5. Transfer the chicken-fried steaks to individual plates. Spoon a generous amount of gravy over each steak. Serve immediately, placing any remaining gravy in a small bowl.

[CowboyMike]

Hm. The dutch oven thing is new to me. So is the egg/buttermilk mixture. We don't use eggs, baking powder, or baking soda. Just pure buttermilk (or even sometimes regular milk in a pinch.) This is simple, Texas, chuckwagon cooking. Nothing fancy. Just good grub.

Season the flour how you prefer. Salt, black pepper, and cayenne is the usual. Dredge the cube steak in the flour and shake off the excess. You don't want a thick layer of flour, just enough to coat lightly. You should still be able to see the texture of the cube steak and maybe some red. Dredge it in the buttermilk and shake off excess. Finally, back into the flour one last time. You don't want to have too much coating. The star is the meat.

Use a cast iron skillet with about a 1/4 inch of oil. I'm thinking perhaps your oil wasn't hot enough, which made the batter disperse. Make sure it does get up to the 360-375 range. Also, make sure your cube steak is room temperature before you start. A cold steak in hot oil is not a good thing. Drop the steaks into the oil and cook until crispy brown. No need to put it in the oven, in my opinion. The only reason to do that would be to keep them warm. Just put them on a rack or plate with paper towel to suck out the extra grease.

Gravy

That is the weirdest country gravy recipe I have ever seen. All you need is about 5 or 6 tbsp butter and/or oil in a pot on medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour, slowly cooking it until you have a golden brown pasty but smooth rue. The key is to keep whisking constantly as you add so it does not get lumpy. Immediately start slowly adding milk until it is a golden/white color and you have the consistency you desire. The gravy will thicken as it keeps cooking. Add spices as you desire. Salt and pepper (lots of pepper) are the norm. My dad puts something in his gravy that I can't figure out and he won't tell me, but it's fantastic. It's just kind of your thing to play with as far as spices go.

Good luck! Practice practice practice.

[brymatt94]

Originally Posted by CowboyMike

Hm. The dutch oven thing is new to me. So is the egg/buttermilk mixture. We don't use eggs, baking powder, or baking soda. Just pure buttermilk (or even sometimes regular milk in a pinch.) This is simple, Texas, chuckwagon cooking. Nothing fancy. Just good grub.

Season the flour how you prefer. Salt, black pepper, and cayenne is the usual. Dredge the cube steak in the flour and shake off the excess. You don't want a thick layer of flour, just enough to coat lightly. You should still be able to see the texture of the cube steak and maybe some red. Dredge it in the buttermilk and shake off excess. Finally, back into the flour one last time. You don't want to have too much coating. The star is the meat.

[View Full Quote]Use a cast iron skillet with about a 1/4 inch of oil. I'm thinking perhaps your oil wasn't hot enough, which made the batter disperse. Make sure it does get up to the 360-375 range. Also, make sure your cube steak is room temperature before you start. A cold steak in hot oil is not a good thing. Drop the steaks into the oil and cook until crispy brown. No need to put it in the oven, in my opinion. The only reason to do that would be to keep them warm. Just put them on a rack or plate with paper towel to suck out the extra grease.

Gravy

That is the weirdest country gravy recipe I have ever seen. All you need is about 5 or 6 tbsp butter and/or oil in a pot on medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour, slowly cooking it until you have a golden brown pasty but smooth rue. The key is to keep whisking constantly as you add so it does not get lumpy. Immediately start slowly adding milk until it is a golden/white color and you have the consistency you desire. The gravy will thicken as it keeps cooking. Add spices as you desire. Salt and pepper (lots of pepper) are the norm. My dad puts something in his gravy that I can't figure out and he won't tell me, but it's fantastic. It's just kind of your thing to play with as far as spices go.

Good luck! Practice practice practice.

This has to be the greatest chicken fried steak I've ever tasted (He's my dad too)

[Teren_Kanan]

CFS is awful.

So unbelievably awful. It takes something delicious (a steak) and ruins it.

Yuck, gravy or no.

ah well, Good luck with your recipes =p

[The30YardSlant]

Originally Posted by Teren_Kanan

CFS is awful.

Communist

[VietCowboy]

Originally Posted by Teren_Kanan

CFS is awful.

So unbelievably awful. It takes something delicious (a steak) and ruins it.

Yuck, gravy or no.

ah well, Good luck with your recipes =p

I've had some good and bad ones, the bad ones are overly oily, drenched in gravy, and too salty. But, if done correctly, is really good.

[pupulehaole]

Originally Posted by The30YardSlant

Communist