Chicken fried steak

There’s a food tradition in this country that needs to go away, Dear Reader. It’s the tradition of calling cubed steak that’s dipped in flour and then deep fried ‘Chicken Fried Steak’. When you fry chicken, do you first de-bone the chicken, send it through a tenderizer and then put too much pepper on it as you deep fry it? No. You take the chicken, marinate it, perhaps in a little buttermilk and some spices, dredge it in flour, and pan fry it in about ½ an inch of oil. Right? That’s kind of what we’re going to do today. And along the way, we’re also making mashed potatoes and a country gravy (and no, I’m not talking that icky white paste with pepper that so many places serve). So let’s have dinner!

Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes and Country Gravy

The Steak


So I was confronted at the store with this lovely sale on chuck rib steaks. Not too much marbling, but not too much side fat either. Definitely steaks for a good panfry. Each steak is ¾ of a pound, and about ¾ of an inch thick. That will change. Tenderize your steak. Take whatever you use to tenderize (skillet, mallet, hammer), whack it a few times all over each side, knock it down to just over ½ an inch in thickness. Season it. Now, before you ask me the question, I’ll answer it for you… I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU USE TO SEASON IT. SEASON IT WITH WHAT YOU LIKE. I’m using Montreal steak seasoning from McCormick. It’s got some spices, pepper and garlic. It works. Do that on the outside, let it sit for a few minutes. While it’s sitting, prepare your batter.



Today’s batter is the simplest drench/dredge there is. In one tin/plate, flat shallow dish thingy, beat up an egg and about 2 teaspoons milk. Season it with salt and pepper. In another tin/plate, mix 1 cup flour with some of your seasoning. You should be able to SEE the seasoning, but not a whole lot. Some specks, but not a huge amount. Take 2 tablespoons of this and set it aside for the gravy. DREDGE the steak, both sides, let it sit.





Heat some shortening in a skillet over medium heat until about 350 degrees. Your goal is about ½ inch in the bottom of the skillet.







While your shortening is heating, take the steak (already dredged), and dip it in the egg mixture.





Then dredge it again, drench it again, dredge it again. There’s going to be 2 layers on this.






When the shortening is hot, gently place the steak in the pan. Cook until the down side is browned, but not all the way done (you should still see some white in 1 or 2 of the divots). Flip it.



Cook the other side until completely browned, then flip a second time to
catch the first side again. All in all, my steak was in the hot grease for about 15 minutes: 5 minutes the first side, 8 minutes the 2nd side, 2 minutes back on the first side.


After you finish the steak, set it aside on a plate to rest. You’ll be using the pan for gravy.



The Gravy

Drain the fat from the pan. I usually drain it all out, catching as much of the fond as possible before it leaves. Then add back in 2 tablespoons of the fat back into your pan, heat to medium.







Sprinkle the reserved flour mixture over the fat in the pan. Cook it until it’s a really really pale tan, mixing in the bits of fond. Once it’s all uniformly tan, pour in some milk. Typically it’s going to be about 1 ½ cups of the white stuff. And yes… I use whole milk. This is comfort food, not good for you food.






Mix/stir/whisk the flour mixture with the milk, making sure there’s no lurking lumps ready to turn into paste in your mouth. Bring the whole concoction to a boil, stirring more or less constantly.







It’s done when your spoon/spatula/whisk leaves a trail behind itself (tried to catch it in the photo).




The Mashed Potatoes

OK, everyone should know how to make rudimentary mashed potatoes, right? What’s that? How? You only open a box or an envelope and that’s your m…. Oh, Dear Reader. Tsk tsk tsk. Homemade mashers is one of the easiest dishes you can do.


Take as many potatoes as you have people eating, plus 1 if they’re mid-sized. That’s how much you’ll make. I was making for myself, so I did 2 potatoes. Now, since I love mashed, I picked REALLY BIG POTATOES. I used standard russets. Wash them. Peel them. Chop each potato into 6 chunks.





Boil these chunks in enough water to cover the tops of them until they’re fork tender. This means you can put a fork into one of the chunks, twist it and break the chunk apart, but it won’t disintegrate. Drain the boiled potatoes. In the pan with the potatoes, throw in 2 tablespoons butter (BUTTER. Not margarine. BUTTER), mash with a masher. Add about ½ cup milk, mash with the masher. Mix until mostly smooth.




Plating it up: Spoon the potatoes on the plate with the steak. Make a well in the center of the potatoes (it doesn’t have to be deep), pour gravy over everything. Enjoy.

Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes & Country Gravy

I took this to show the absolute perfect medium-rarity of this fried flesh. MMMmmmmm… and tender too.