While growing up, at least once a month, my mom would make The Best Chicken Fried Steak ever. I loved it with white gravy, on either biscuits or toast. I looked forward to peeling the coating off the meat, eating it plain, then cutting up the meat like it was a separate dish.
I was that kid.
In this recipe, the buttermilk and hot sauce give it that extra bit of deliciousness to put it into the “Comfort Foods That Rock” category. Actually I don’t have that category on ABK, but if I did, this recipe would be there.
It is a perfect recipe for this weather- one of those stayinsideandhibernate days. January in northern Utah seems to be filled with those days…
I figure you can either complain or embrace it.
Or go to Mexico.
Comfort food=embrace.
Have a great day.
The Best Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients
for steaks:
- 4 (1/2 pound) beef cube steaks*, total, 2 lbs steak
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening for frying
for gravy:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3-4 cups milk, approximately
- salt and pepper to taste
- rice, biscuits or toast for serving
Instructions
- Pound the steaks to about 1/3-inch thick with mallet if needed.
- Get out two shallow bowls. Place 2 cups of flour in a bowl.
- In another bowl, stir together the baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt.
- Stir in the buttermilk, egg and Tabasco Sauce.
- Dredge each steak first in the flour, then in the batter, and again in the flour.
- Heat the shortening in a cast-iron skillet to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
- Place fried steaks on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Drain any leftover oil from the skillet, reserving any of the solid remnants from the meat and coating on the meat.
- Do not clean skillet or wipe out.
To make gravy:
- Return the skillet to medium heat.
- Melt butter in skillet.
- Whisk 1/2 cup flour into the melted butter.
- Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release solids into the gravy.
- Stir in the milk, a little at a time using a whisk (I use between 3-4 cups, start with 1, then slowly add milk), raise the heat to medium.
- Bring the gravy to a simmer, cook until thick, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Place the meat on top of biscuits , toast or rice and top with gravy.
Notes
- Cube steaks are found in the meat section of your grocery store. They are usually tougher cuts of beef that have been forced through a tenderizer that leaves square marks on the meat (that’s why the name “cube steak”). The meat is usually processed to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
- The steaks may be fried in any type of heavy pan. If you fry two at a time, and need a bit more oil for the second batch, simply add a little more oil to the pan and let it heat up a bit before frying.
- My mom used to make this with milk and eggs instead of buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk, substitute 2 eggs and 1 cup of milk. I’d omit the baking soda and powder as well. I believe those react with the buttermilk to cause a bit of a rise in the batter/coating on the meat, but may not have a the same effect if using milk. The buttermilk really makes this dish, I recommend using it instead of milk if possible.
- You may make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup and then filling the one cup measure with milk. Let sit for 10 minutes, then use in recipe.
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!
Rachel
I recently got beef from a friend and this looks like the perfect way to use the cube steaks. Does the recipe call for four half-pound steaks or four and a half pounds of meat?
Mo Murray
I can never use the rest of the buttermilk if I buy it. So I’ve taken to the substitute, 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. It does the same thing chemically to the recipe.
To me it tastes the same so- making lemonade out of the lemon you got handed. Thanks for the really good recipe.
Si Foster
Dear Mo,
That’s a great trick for making buttermilk in a pinch! I’m glad you enjoyed the Chicken Fried Steak recipe. Now that’s some deelish comfort food!
If you’re ever wanting more recipes with buttermilk, I have a bunch! Salad dressings, waffles, coffee cake…Try them out and let me know what you think!
xo,
Si
Dawn
I have joined ‘where is the recipe
Katherine
yum!
would love for you to join me here:
http://myknowledgegenie.com/healthyhabits2014