Chicken Fried Steak

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK (enough batter for 4):

• ⅓ lb sirlon tip or tenderloin (use as many as needed and cut to get weight and size correct)

• 1 ½ cups flour

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp lemon pepper

• ½ tsp garlic salt

• ½ tsp pepper

• 1 ½ cups of buttermilk

• 1 large egg

• Enough canola oil to deep fry

• Additional seasoning to taste

CHICKEN BASE CREAM GRAVY:

• 1 ¼ cups no/low sodium chicken stock

• ½ chicken no/low sodium bullion cube

• ⅓ cup of whole milk

• ⅓ cup flour

• ½ cup canola oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

TRADITIONAL CREAM GRAVY:

• 1 ½ cups of whole milk

• ⅓ cup flour

• ½ cup canola oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

GO FOR IT

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK:

1. Using the rigged edge of a mallet, pound out your steaks very thin (⅛ to ¼ inch thin) then lightly season with salt

2. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, lemon pepper, garlic salt, and pepper

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg

4. Before seasoning steaks in batter, use a dutch oven or frying pan to heat oil to 350° (use enough oil to completely cover steaks when added to pan)

5. When the oil hits about 250°-300° use one hand to handle dry steaks, and the other hand to handle the wet steaks and dip your steaks first in the flour mix and coat very well, then dip your steaks in the buttermilk and egg mix and coat well (let excess liquid drip off after dunk) then coat again very well with flour mix

6. Working in batches to not overcrowd pan, immediately deep fry steaks in 350° oil for no longer than 90 seconds on each side

7. Using tongs, remove from heat, letting excess oil drip back into pan, before moving to plate lined with paper towel to soak up additional oil

8. Season with additional salt, lemon pepper, garlic salt, and pepper, then top with gravy and serve immediately

CHICKEN BASE CREAM GRAVY:

1. In a saucepan or small skillet, heat oil over medium heat then add flour and and ½ bullion cube and whisk constantly for about 1 to 2 minutes (flour should turn a light brown and be free of clumps - this is called a roux)

2. Bring roux to a simmer, then slowly add in stock and milk and stir until incorporated and slightly thickened (about 4 minutes)

3. Taste then whisk in and season with salt and pepper as desired (I like lots of pepper and will usually add about ½ TBS of pepper and 1 or 2 tsp of salt)

4. If gravy is too thick, add a little bit more milk or stock depending if you want something more creamy or “chickeny” after tasting and whisk until incorporated

5. Smother on top of your chicken fried steak before serving

TRADITIONAL CREAM GRAVY:

1. In a saucepan or small skillet, heat oil over medium heat then add flour and whisk constantly for about 1 to 2 minutes (flour should turn a light brown and be free of clumps - this is called a roux)

2. Bring roux to a simmer, then slowly add in milk and stir until incorporated and slightly thickened (about 4 minutes)

3. Taste then whisk in and season with salt and pepper as desired (I like lots of pepper and will usually add about ½ TBS of pepper and 1 or 2 tsp of salt)

4. If gravy is too thick, add a little bit more milk and whisk until incorporated

5. Smother on top of your chicken fried steak before serving

NOTES:

Most chicken fried steaks recipes you find on the internet will call for cube steaks. I think the idea is that they are cheap and turn tender after you pound them out with the mallet. However, every attempt I’ve ever tried while using cube steaks results in a chicken fried steak as tough as leather no matter how much I pulverize them. Please use a cut tenderloin or sirloin tip as recommended here and thank me later.

Spices vary by other recipes I’ve found. But I know for certain that Hickory Hollow in Houston sprinkles the top of their completed chicken fried steaks with lemon pepper and garlic salt and so I do that here and also add those seasonings to the flour mix. Others also add cayenne and paprika and if you want a little heat then add ½ tsp of each to the flour mix and go for it. Adding 2 tsp of Tabasco or Frank’s Red Hot to the buttermilk and egg mix is also very popular. I wasn’t going for a spicy chicken fried steak here but have in the past and it’s nice. I just want to provide you with the option. What I’ve made here is incredible, though.

I really like the chicken base cream gravy I made but for the life of me I just can’t figure out exactly how they do it at Hickory Hollow even after several attempts. I will say this, though. Use no or low sodium bullion and stock if you decide to go this route. You can always add salt but you can’t take salt away (I use no sodium stock and butter in everything I do because of this). In past versions I did not adhere to this rule and while the gravy had a nice chicken flavor to it, it just comes out way too salty for what a gravy should be. Additionally, you can also go a bit further and use the same pan you used for cooking the steaks to make the gravy which will soak up all those fried steak pieces and add further to your flavor. I skip it here only because I don’t want to handle and remove the excess of oil in the pan after frying because it’s just a mess to handle while still hot. I just want people to know I’m aware of this in case anyone wants to criticize me for not following this step with my gravy.