Kind of missing Texas, need a chicken-fried steak recipe!

After living in the Big D for seven years, almost three decades ago, I started getting a bad case of "food nostalgia."

Back then, as a young Michigan transplant, I was introduced very quickly to Mexican Food, "real" BBQ, real chili, jalapenos, hush puppies, biscuits and gravy, and, finally chicken-fried steak.

I'm missing it now, especially since I can't get anything on the aforementioned list here in SE Michigan that remotely approaches the goodness of the stuff I ate in Texas.

So...got a good chicken-fried steak recipe for me to try?

Thanks in advance,

Len.

Take a good thick tenderized cutlet. Mix an egg with milk (use the good stuff, not 2%). Dip the cutlet in it and roll in flour. Dip it in the egg/milk mix again and roll in the flour again. Fry in good hot oil until done as you like it in the middle. Serve with liberal amounts of white cream gravy. Enjoy.

Damn, I'm getting hungry.

You REALLY know how to hurt a guy OFT!
4 hours till dinner out here?.......ARgggggggggggh!

Kind of missing Texas, need a chicken-fried steak recipe

I have never had a chicken fried steak. I'll be damned if that doesn't sound great.
I copied your recipe OFT and will try that when the wife's not home. She's a cardioligy nurse.

Len, I have a dog just like yours. Lucky is his name and he's the beat dog we ever had. He's supposed to be Black Lab and part Golden Retiever, but looks like a black lab. Great people dogs.

I have combined several different recipes over the years to come up with the one at my house.

I buy a round steak and trim all of the fat off of it, cut it into a few pieces and pound it until it is about 1/4 to 3/8ths inch thick.

I season my flour with salt, black pepper, paprika and white pepper. About 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp of the others.

I mix 2 eggs and some real milk (or mix 2% with half and half) and set it aside.

I pull out some wax paper and set it on the counter, the floured cutlets will set there for a few minutes.

Now comes the fun part.

Dredge the tenderized cutlet through the flour, shake off the excess. Dip the floured cutlet into the egg/milk mixture and then back in the flour. This is messy. Set it on the wax paper to rest for a few minutes. Do the next one and the next one and the next one the same way. If you can only do 2 at a time, you may want to wait to dredge them in pairs as the ones before are cooking.

Heat about 1/2" of oil, crisco or lard in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. It is ready to use when a little flour is dropped in it and it sizzles, or a drop of water spits back at you.

Using a long handled fork, place the cutlet gently into the skillet, lay it away from you as you lower it into the skillet. Fry the steak on both sides (only turn once) until they are golden brown, reduce the heat to low for about 4-5 minutes, take them out of the skillet and drain on paper towels. You can also put them on a wire rack in a cookie sheet in the oven @ 200-250 degrees to keep them warm, if you go that route you may need to experiment with amount of time to cook on low as they will continue to cook a little in the oven.

After the cutlets are removed from the pan, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons or so of flour (use the left-over flour from the chicken fried steak recipe) in the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour.

Stirn a a cup or so of milk, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and mashing out any lumps. Lower heat, and gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired thickness. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste. I have also used chicken boullion in my gravy at times to perk up the flavor a little bit. It was OK, YMMV.

You may want to use more flour to make a thicker gravy, you can always add liquid to it to thin it out to your liking, it is harder to get it thicker.

I like to have coarse mashed (lots of lumps) potatoes and corn to go with mine.

bob

It not Chicken Fried Steak... But if you are missing Texas food, this is greatness and they ship to your doorstep. I recommend the Big Chop. Don't forget to order the sauce!

http://www.coopersbbq.com/

Mine is a lot like Bob R's above. Must be a master recipe going around somewhere.

This recipe calls for cube steaks, but good round steak that you have asked the butcher to run through the tenderizer or that you have tenderized yourself with a mallet (no big deal and can be a real stress reliever) can be even better.

4 tenderized beef cutlets (known in supermarkets as "cube steak") OR 1 round steak, with fat removed, that you've tenderized yourself (see above)
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
all-purpose flour
cooking oil or melted Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Beat together the egg and milk and set aside. Mix together the salt, black pepper, paprika and white pepper and sprinkle on both sides of beef cutlets.

Dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip each cutlet in the egg/milk mixture, then back in the flour. (You're going to get your hands messy here, so take your rings off.) Set cutlets aside on a piece of waxed paper.

Heat the cooking oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Oil should be about a half-inch deep in the pan. Check the temperature with a drop of water; if it pops and spits back at you, it's ready.

With a long-handled fork, carefully place each cutlet into the hot oil. Protect yourself (and your kitchen) from the popping grease that results. Fry cutlets on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 4 or 5 minutes until cutlets are done through. Drain cutlets on paper towels.

Cream Gravy:
After the cutlets are removed from the pan, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour (use the left-over flour from the chicken fried steak recipe) in the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour.

Gradually stir in 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water, mixed together, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and mashing out any lumps. Lower heat and gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired thickness. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste.

The old fashioned way to tenderize the meat is to pound it with an ironstone plate turned on edge. My wife won't let me make CFS at home, because it takes a week to clean the kitchen after I'm done.

Here in San Antonio, it is easier to go to "Tip-Top" on Tuesday night.

If you don't want to dirty up the kitchen, find the closest Cracker Barrel restaurant. Their chicken fried steak is darned good. If I recall, they have fried okra as a side dish, too.

This month's issue of Saveur has a brief article on chicken fried steak. they tried it three different ways at some little restaurant in Texas and published one of the recipes. It looks delicious, I have to try it. Here's a link: http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Chicken-Fried-Steak-1000072278

leswad said:

It not Chicken Fried Steak... But if you are missing Texas food, this is greatness and they ship to your doorstep. I recommend the Big Chop. Don't forget to order the sauce!

http://www.coopersbbq.com/

Click to expand...

It ain't a chicken fried steak but Cooper's has the best barbeque that I've found in Texas. Any time that we're within a hundred miles of Llano my wife wants to go to Cooper's.

Red Tex hit it on the head. No to be an endorsment for Cracker Barrel, But

Their country fried steak with milk gravy a side of fried okra and greens is GREAT

mississippi revolverman said:

Red Tex hit it on the head. No to be an endorsment for Cracker Barrel, But

Their country fried steak with milk gravy a side of fried okra and greens is GREAT

Click to expand...

I love their country fried steak breakfast. Too bad the closest one to me is about 4 hours.

Thanks to all for the replies!!!

Ran out to pick up all the ingredients, and am going to try a combo of Bob/Montezumaz recipe, since they're quite similar. I took the advice and had the butcher run some round steak through the tenderizer for me, too.

So, the menu for Saturday night dinner is Chicken Fried Steak, with home-made onion rings, and hickory-smoked corn on the cob I know, it's not heart smart, but it'll be good for my heart anyway!

Then, to follow up with Red Tex's advice, I'm actually going to darken the doors of a Cracker Barrel, and try it there, too, next week some time. [Never been to CB before, but I hear nothing but good about it. Don't have a reason for not trying it to this point, I've just never been...]

Thanks again, to everyone. Have a great weekend.

Len.

Len

What time is dinner served. I will bring the beer. Lone Star of course.