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Home » Chicken Fried Steak

By Jennifer 1 Comment

Chicken Fried Steak

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Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

One of my favorite meals growing up was Mom's Chicken Fried Steak. She takes a lot of pride in cooking for the family and always makes a feast for dinner. I can almost hear the steaks sizzling in the pan and the smell of garlic and fried beef. If those sounds and smells met us at the door when we got home, we knew a fantastic meal was coming soon. Mom would serve this country meal with Homestyle Mashed Potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh green salad and homemade yeast rolls.

There are a few secrets to making chicken fried steak well, first is tenderizing the meat. If you're using round steak, you'll want to hammer it out with a meat tenderizer, which can be a little messy, but makes the steak very tender.  Otherwise, you can skip this step if you buy pre-tenderized cube steaks.

Next, you'll need to season the meat very well on both sides. I always keep my “kitchen salt” on hand and use it as my main season salt with most all of my dishes.  You can find my Kitchen Salt recipe here.

Chicken-Fried-Steak-Recipe

In addition to seasoning the meat, it's important to also season the flour so that you have layers of good flavor.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Setting up your breading station ahead of time while keep things moving smoothly.  Start by dipping the seasoned meat into the flour, then into the egg wash, then back into the flour to make a good breading that will create a crispy crust during frying.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Another important tip is to place the breaded meat onto a sheet pan, cover and place back in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before frying. This will firmly adhere the breading onto the meat and help keep it from falling of when frying.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

You want to use a heavy skillet, like an iron skillet for even frying. I like to fry in shortening or lard. It makes a crispier crust and holds up better to hot heat.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Cook just until golden brown on each side. Cooking over medium-high heat, along with a heavy bottomed skillet will help prevent hot spots or darker, sometimes burned spots on the steak.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Another very important tip is to place a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place the pan-fried steaks onto the rack before going into the oven.  This will keep the bottoms from getting soggy while cooking the remaining steaks, and while finishing them off in the oven.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Once you're finished frying everything, you'll have a lot of browned bits left in the pan. Don't get rid of this! This stuff is what helps make the cream gravy so great.  Pour off all but 4 tablespoons of the grease and drippings.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Making gravy is really easy, so don't be too intimidated by it. Add the flour to the grease and stir over medium-high heat.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Cook the flour mixture, stirring constantly for about 1 minute or until light golden brown. The mixture may seem crumbly, but it will smooth out as you whisk in the milk and cream.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Once the gravy comes together and begins to simmer, continue whisking and cooking for about 3 minutes and the gravy will tighten up and thicken.  Season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper, to taste and keep warm until ready to serve.

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

I hope you enjoy!

For an extra special Southern meal, try serving with these fantastic sides: Homestyle Mashed Potatoes, Cream Corn, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Crisp Bacon!

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Chicken Fried Steak | Jennifer Cooks

Chicken Fried Steak

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Servings: 8 servings
Author: Jennifer Locklin

Ingredients

  • 2-3 pounds round or cube steak cut into 8 pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Kitchen Salt or seasoned salt
  • black pepper
  • 4 cups vegetable oil shortening or lard, for frying
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together eggs, milk, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper until well blended.
  • Place flour in a separate shallow bowl or pie plate and whisk in ½ teaspoon Kitchen Salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
  • Pound meat with meat mallet to ¼-inch thickness (if using round steak).
  • Combine 2 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon kitchen salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
  • Divide garlic mixture evenly between cuts of meat and rub seasoning mixture into the meat.
  • Dredge in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into egg mixture, then again into flour, coating well. Continue breading all meat.
  • Place on a baking sheet in a single layer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to frying.
  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  • Heat oil or shortening in a large skillet over medium-high to 350 degrees.
  • Add 2 or 3 pieces of meat (do not over crowd), and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
  • Place a cooling rack inside a rimmed baking sheet, then place fried steaks onto the racks and set in a preheated oven and continue to cook for about 20 minutes.
  • Serve warm with cream gravy.

*Nutrition information is automatically calculated based on ingredient data and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient options are provided, the first listed is used for calculation. Optional ingredients and garnishes are not included in the nutrition analysis.

Cream Gravy
Author: Jennifer Locklin
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients
  • 4 tablespoons pan drippings
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Over medium-high heat, add the flour to the pan drippings and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.
  2. Add the milk in a thin stream, whisking constantly.
  3. Whisk in the cream, whisking and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly.
  4. Lower heat and simmer for about 3 minutes, whisking constantly.
  5. Season to taste with salt and a generous amount of pepper.

3.5.3208

 

Filed Under: Beef, Main Dish Tagged With: Comfort Food, cream gravy, Dinner, steak, Texas

About Jennifer

I’m Jennifer Locklin, author and owner of Jennifer Cooks. I am a trained chef and passionate about good food, cooking for family and friends, and creating recipes that form lasting memories from one generation to the next. I hope you find inspiration for cooking and creating here!

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  1. Chicken Parmesan | Jennifer Cooks says:
    August 31, 2016 at 7:48 am

    […] Parmesan, for me, is kin to one of my comfort food favorites, Chicken Fried Steak!  I love the tender, juicy and seasoned meat with that crunchy, crispy crust.  The savory […]

    Reply

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Hello! I'm Jennifer Locklin, the creator of Jennifer Cooks. Cooking is a cherished tradition passed down in my family, deeply rooted in love and shared experiences.

My blog showcases tried-and-true recipes that promise to turn your cooking into memorable moments.

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