Chicken Fried Steak

By DIANETHORNTON

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Cube Steak (tenderized Round Steak That's Been Extra Tenderized)
• 1-1/2 cup Whole Milk, Plus Up To 2 Cups For Gravy
• 2 whole Large Eggs
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour
• Seasoned Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
• LOTS Of Black Pepper. Lots.
• Canola Oil, For Frying
• Salt And Pepper, For Both Meat And Gravy
• 5 pounds Russet Or Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 3/4 cups Butter
• 1 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/2 cup (to 3/4 Cups) Half-and-Half
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (to 1 Teaspoon) Black Pepper

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 40mins
Adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the assembly, dip the meat, one piece at a time, into the egg/milk mixture.
Remove it from the wet mixture, then place it into the flour mixture.
Remove it from the flour mixture…
Then place it into the wet mixture again, turning to coat.
Finally, place it in the flour once again and turn to coat.
After this, place the meat in a clean dish while you repeat the breading process with the rest of the meat.
Heat some canola oil in a heavy skillet.
Remove the cooked meat to a paper towel-lined plate, then get ready to make the gravy.
What you need to do first is pour off all the grease into a heatproof bowl, then add 1/4 cup of grease back into the skillet. Heat it over medium-low heat, then sprinkle flour over the grease.
Whisk the flour into the oil…
Pour in a couple of cups of milk…
And whisk until it’s combined. You’ll need to add plenty of salt and pepper to the gravy, tasting as you go. Undersalted gravy is a sacrilege.
Begin with an assembly line of dishes for the meat: milk mixed with egg in one; flour mixed with spices in one; meat in one; then have one clean plate at the end to receive the breaded meat.
Work one piece of meat at a time. Season both sides with salt and pepper, then dip in the milk/egg mixture. Next, place the meat on the plate of seasoned flour. Turn to coat thoroughly. Place the meat back into the milk/egg mixture, turning to coat. Place back in the flour and turn to coat.
(So: wet mixture/dry mixture/wet mixture/dry mixture.) Place breaded meat on the clean plate, then repeat with remaining meat.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop in a few sprinkles of flour to make sure it's sufficiently hot. Cook meat, three pieces at a time, until edges start to look golden brown; around 2 to 2 1/2 minutes each side.
After all meat is fried, pour off the grease into a heatproof bowl. Without cleaning the pan, return it to the stove over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cup grease back to the pan. Allow grease to heat up.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour evenly over the grease. Using a whisk, mix flour with grease, creating a golden-brown paste. Keep cooking until it reaches a deep golden brown color. If paste seems more oily than pasty, sprinkle in another tablespoon of flour and whisk.
Whisking constantly, pour in milk. Cook to thicken the gravy. Be prepared to add more milk if it becomes overly thick. Add salt and pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until gravy is smooth and thick. Be sure to taste to make sure gravy is sufficiently seasoned.
Serve meat next to a big side of mashed potatoes. Pour gravy over the whole shebang!
Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.
Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.
Turn off the stove and add 1 ½ sticks of butter, an 8-ounce package of cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half. Mash, mash, mash! Next, add about ½ teaspoon of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and ½ a teaspoon of black pepper.
Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.
The milk gravy is great BUT it is LOADED with fat from even 2% milk and not long on flavor. Instead of 2 cups of milk try one cup of milk and one cup of beef broth! Adds great flavor and the gravy will still look “creamy”
Add some Okra, Squash, Cornbread, and a slice of pecan pie, and you’ve got yourself part of the ‘Oklahoma state meal.’
However you can use the same process to make Chicken Fried Chicken using thin cut slices of skinless boneless chicken. Think Cracker Barrel. They serve both.
I have always added a bit of cornmeal to my flour mixture. Adds just a bit more crunch to the coating.
Cornmeal is a good idea. But I always use bread crums in addition to the egg/mill and flour.