It’s a Southern thang: Chicken Fried Steak, served with a peppery gravy that just melts in your mouth.
Like a lot of Southern food, Chicken Fried Steak is fried goodness and has a variety of origin stories. Most popular in the swath of the South including western Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, the dish may have originated with the numerous German and Austrian immigrants in the 19th century.
It depends on who you ask, but there are some similarities to the European schnitzel dish, normally made with a thin piece of veal and coated with a crisp fried breading. It’s easy to see how the newcomers to America simply swapped out cheap beef cuts for the veal and transformed the schnitzel of their homeland. Of course, every little diner or home cook in the South may tell you a different story!
Whatever the origin, the confusing name remains. Is it chicken? Is it steak? And who fries steak? The short answer is that it’s a cheap cut of steak dipped, breaded, and fried up like fried chicken. Not to be confused with country fried steak, which is just dredged through flour before frying. The gravy on top of the two is usually different as well. Chicken Fried Steak has a creamy white gravy, while country fried steak has a brown gravy made from pan drippings.
Why I Love Making Chicken Fried Steak
Even if you’re not a ranch hand coming in for a big meal, this Chicken Fried Steak is great if you love crispy fried meat and heavenly gravy. The crispy coating envelopes the thin cut of cube steak to keep it tender and provides the perfect base for the velvet white gravy poured over top. Filling, satisfying, and flavorful thanks to the seasoning.
Also, this is a recipe that is not rocket science: an easy way to enjoy the comfort food of a diner without leaving home!
Chicken Fried Steak Ingredients
For the chicken fried steak
- 1 lb cube steak tenderized round steak
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- Pinch of salt and black pepper
- Pinch of paprika
- Vegetable oil for frying
For the gravy
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cups whole milk
- Pinch of salt and black pepper
How to Make // The Steps
Step 1: Begin with the preparation of the steak: Beat the milk with the eggs in a small bowl and set aside. Mix the flour with a pinch of paprika and season with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Work with one piece of meat at a time. Season both sides with salt and black pepper, then place it in the flour mixture. Coat with the flour then place into the egg-milk mixture. Finally, place it back in the flour and turn to coat. Place the coated meat on a clean plate, then repeat with the remaining meat.
Step 3: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat then fry the meat in batches, until the edges start to look golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the meat to a paper towel and repeat until all the meat is cooked.
Step 4: Heat another skillet and melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the melted butter and mix the flour with the butter, creating a golden-brown paste.
Step 5: Pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Simmer the gravy on low heat for 5-10 minutes until thickened.
Step 6: Serve the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and pour over the gravy sauce. Enjoy!
Top Tips For a Perfect Chicken Fried Steak Recipe (Cube Steak)
- Tenderized steak: if your meat doesn’t have little marks in it like the ingredients pic above, get out a meat mallet and pound it! Besides getting out your aggression, this tenderizing is what makes the meat nice and easy to cut with a fork.
- Once you are ready to dip and dredge the steak, pat it dry before doing anything in Step 2. This will help everything to stick to the meat itself.
- Batches! Don’t try to fry up all the pieces of steak at once – in my skillet, I can comfortably fit two steaks at a time. This is fine. If you crowd too many in, the steaks won’t brown up like they should. As you finish each batch, just stack the completed pieces on paper towels in a baking dish.
- Good gravy takes a little patience. If you haven’t made gravy before, don’t freak out – just have everything ready to go, and yes, you really do have to keep whisking when adding the milk.
FAQs
A cube steak is just a round steak that has been tenderized by the butcher or meat producer – it should have little holes in it where the machinery pounded it.
Try setting the steak with the coatings in the fridge for about 15 minutes; towards the end of that time, start heating up your oil.
Either around 350 degrees or you can drop a little piece of bread in your oil, and it should brown up in about 30 seconds. You’re ready to fry!
Whole milk really is best; do not use 1% or skim milk. You could alternatively use 2% or canned evaporated milk (as long as it’s not skim evaporated milk). Heavy cream is too heavy! Kind of a Goldilocks meter to get the right texture for the gravy.
Serving Suggestions
If you make one thing to eat with Chicken Fried Steak, go with mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes soak up any extra gravy and provide a creamy counterpart to the crispy steak. Additional sides would include green beans or cooked peas. If you want to up wow factor, consider serving with some cornbread.
How to Store Chicken Fried Steak
Chicken Fried Steak and the gravy are best when served up right away. However, you could make ahead and store the cooked (and cooled) steaks and gravy separately in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve, just gently reheat the steaks in your oven set at 350 degrees until warm (most likely 15-20 minutes). To reheat the gravy, pop it in the microwave and cook on reduced power until warmed up. Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for 3-4 days. This recipe does not freeze well.
Chicken Fried Steak Recipe (Cube Steak)
Ingredients
For the chicken fried steak
- 1 lb cube steak tenderized round steak
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- Pinch of salt and black pepper
- Pinch of paprika
- Vegetable oil for frying
For the gravy
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 cups whole milk
- Pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Begin with the preparation of the steak: Beat the milk with the eggs in a small bowl and set aside. Mix the flour with a pinch of paprika and season with salt and pepper.
- Work with one piece of meat at a time. Season both sides with salt and black pepper, then place it in the flour mixture. Coat with the flour then place into the egg-milk mixture. Finally, place it back in the flour and turn to coat. Place the coated meat on a clean plate, then repeat with the remaining meat.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat then fry the meat in batches, until the edges start to look golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the meat to a paper towel and repeat until all the meat is cooked.
- Heat another skillet and melt the butter. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the melted butter and mix the flour with the butter, creating a golden-brown paste.
- Pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Simmer the gravy on low heat for 5-10 minutes until thickened.
- Serve the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and pour over the gravy sauce. Enjoy!
Nutrition
