Chicken-Fried Steak

One of my favorite things, although a bit of work to make. I have two recipes. The first one is from Serious Eats, as of this writing I haven't tried it. The second is one I've had for many years from an old newspaper column called "The Butcher" by Merle Ellis; it's been a long time since I've made it, but it is very good.

Serious Eats Chicken-Fried Steak

This recipe is slightly complicated, pretty much the norm for Serious Eats. However, it creates a quality restaurant-style CFS, really big and with a thick crunchy coating. One oddity is that they pound the steaks really thin, 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; never seen it that thin, my other recipe is 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Here's a direct link to the entire article.

Ingredients

For the Steaks:

4 long, thin sirloin tip steaks (about 2 pounds)
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 quarts peanut or canola oil

For the Gravy:

1/4 cup vegetable, canola, or peanut oil, for frying
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more to taste

Instructions

For the Steaks:

1. Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Place one steak in a resealable plastic bag. Using a meat pounder, rolling pin, or small skillet, pound steak out to an even 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with remaining 3 steaks. Season steaks with salt.

2. Place cornstarch in a shallow dish. Whisk together egg and 2/3 cup buttermilk in a separate shallow dish. Whisk together flour, 2 teaspoons salt, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, baking powder, and cayenne pepper in a third shallow dish. Drizzle remaining 1/3 cup of buttermilk into seasoned flour and rub with fingertips until mixture is coarse like wet sand.

3. Working one steak at a time, coat well in cornstarch. Lift steak, shake off excess cornstarch, then transfer to egg mixture. Coat steak well in egg mixture, lift steak, letting excess egg drain off, then transfer to seasoned buttermilk-flour mixture. Coat steak well, pressing seasoned flour all over to help it adhere to the meat. Lift steak, shake off excess flour, and transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining steaks. Let steaks stand for 10 minutes.

4. Place oil in a large Dutch oven or wok and heat to 375°F (190°C) over high heat. Carefully lift 1 steak and gently slide into oil. Cook, flipping occasionally, until golden brown and crisp on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes total. Transfer steak to a paper towel-lined tray and season with salt to taste. Repeat with remaining 3 steaks.

For the Gravy:

5. Transfer 1/4 cup of hot frying oil to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and whisk constantly until mixture turns light brown, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Stir in pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and additional pepper to taste.

6. Transfer steaks to plates, top with gravy, and serve immediately.

 

Merle Ellis Chicken-Fried Steak

Many years ago there was a nationally syndicated column called "The Butcher", written by Merle Ellis. He had a background as a butcher and wrote, duh, about meat - different animals, different cuts, different ways of preparing it, and usually with recipes. It was an outstanding column, very informative and interesting. I saved many of his recipes and some I still make regularly. He says he got this recipe for CFS from his grandmother. Although I haven't made it in a long time it is a great recipe, making a classic home-style CFS - not as elaborate as the Serious Eats one but much simpler.

Besides his column Merle Ellis's career included several TV shows and appearances and several books; he won an Emmy in 1976. He passed away on Jan 20, 2010, age 76. From his writings he seemed like a really decent, straightforward guy, and I hope other people remember him as fondly as I do.

Ingredients

2 pounds top round steak, cut 3/4 to 1 inch thick
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 beaten eggs
2 tablespoons cream
1/3 cup lard or vegetable oil
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs, crushed fine
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cream
1 cup (about) chicken stock
Dash of Worcestershire sauce (optional)
Dash of Tabasco sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt, and pepper together and pound well into both sides of the meat with the edge of a heavy plate. Cut the meat into serving-size pieces.

2. Beat eggs together with 2 tablespoons of cream. Heat the lard or oil in a heavy black iron skillet over moderately high heat. Dip floured steaks into the egg and then into the cracker crumbs.

3. Brown steaks well on both sides. Reduce heat to medium, cover the skillet and cook for 15 - 20 minutes, turning occasionally until the steaks are cooked through and tender.

4. Chicken fried steak should be well-done but not dry. Remove steaks from pan and drain on brown paper bags. Keep warm.

5. At this point, Grandma would often sauté sliced onion rings in the same pan before making gravy. They go well with chicken fried steak.

6. To make the gravy, pour off all but three tablespoons of the fat in the skillet and stir in three tablespoons of flour. Stir to incorporate any particles in the bottom of the pan and cook for a minute or two.

7. Stir in the cream to form a thick paste, then add chicken stock slowly, stirring to make a gravy the consistency that it should be, smooth and velvety.

8. Serve with lumpy mashed potatoes and homemade biscuits or corn bread.