Chicken Fried Steak
Published Dec. 6, 2023
- Total Time
- 50 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1½cups all-purpose flour
- 1½teaspoons smoked or sweet paprika
- ½teaspoon garlic powder
- ½teaspoon onion powder
- ¼teaspoon ground cayenne, or to taste
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper, for seasoning
- 1½cups whole or 2-percent milk
- 1large egg
- 1½ to 2pounds cube steak (see Tip), cut into 6 pieces
- Vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup), plus more if needed
- ¼cup all-purpose flour
- 2cups whole or 2-percent milk, plus more as needed
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
For the Pan Gravy
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
777 calories; 52 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 33 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 37 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 39 grams protein; 837 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare your dredging station: Place the flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a shallow dish or pie plate, and stir well to combine. Taste a little bit of the flour mixture and adjust seasoning as needed. In another similar dish, add the milk and egg, and beat until well combined. Place a sheet pan or a large plate beside you as a landing place for the meat.
- Step 2
Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper. Place each piece of meat in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in the milk mixture, and then again in the flour mixture. Place on the sheet pan.
- Step 3
Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Place a wire rack on a second sheet pan. In a large cast-iron or similar pan, heat the oil (about ½ inch) over medium-high until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 to 2 steaks at a time, without crowding the pan. It should sizzle as soon as the meat hits the pan. Fry until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as needed. (It’s OK if you lose a little bit of the crust to the pan.) Transfer the fried steaks to the wire rack and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining meat, adding more oil as needed.
- Step 4
Make the pan gravy, if using. (For very white gravy, follow this recipe.) Turn off the heat. Using a mesh strainer, carefully strain the oil into a heatproof measuring cup or bowl. Discard any large bits left in the pan. Pour ¼ cup of the strained oil back into the pan and heat over medium-low. Whisk in the flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, scraping up any small bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Continuously whisk until the mixture becomes a thin paste, about 2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, slowly pour in the milk, continuously whisking or stirring until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (If the gravy is too thick, stir in a bit more milk.)
- Step 5
Transfer the chicken fried steaks to plates and pour as much gravy as you like over the top. Season with more black pepper, if you like.
- The best cut of meat for chicken fried steak is cube steak, an extra-tenderized round steak. Ask the butcher to tenderize round steak to about ¼-inch thickness. Or, you can tenderize it yourself with a meat mallet.
Private Notes
Comments
No need to strain the oil or discard the large bits - leave all that good stuff in the pan to elevate the gravy.
For sublimely tender steaks, rub 1 teaspoon of baking soda onto each steak before seasoning with salt and pepper.
This is my secret (no longer!) not-good-for-you dinner. Crispy, well-seasoned, done in a couple of minutes. I find that there's enough flour residue in the pan to make the gravy without needing to make the roux, just get rid of the extra grease, deglaze with some water and then boil that down and add some milk; it thickens nicely. Serve with something non-guilt-inducing, like broccoli. A glass of good wine and you're good to go!
This was a big production, but the results didn't justify it. So little flavor overall, and especially in the gravy -- you need to *dump* salt and pepper into that to attain any flavor at all.
I made this and it was awful . . . Tough and greasy and a complete waste of time.
6th generation Texan here. The best meat is round steak beaten heavily with the pokey side of a mallet. Round has a better beefy flavor. You fry up the bone last. Use bacon grease as your oil. You only need salt and pepper in the flour. You can get away with only water if you dont have an egg. Do not remove any bits to make the gravy. Test the grease by tossing a little flour. It should foam/sizzle. Never put in wet batter The marrow from the bone it a treat.
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