Chicken fried steak is a delicious southern specialty known for being savory, crunchy and indulgent. While it can take a minute to get a hang of the frying, this dish is actually quite easy to prepare and enjoy! Simply make a flour coating mix and an egg wash, coat your steaks and fry! The delicious gravy is made by adding some heavy cream and milk to the residual fry oil and flour coating.
People are often confused by the name chicken fried steak: the dish is fried steak, not chicken! The name comes from frying the steak as you would fry chicken. Cube steak is recommended for this dish. If you are not familiar, cube steak is simply top round or sirloin steak that has been tenderized with a meat tenderizing mallet. As a result, cube steak is flat and covered in indentations. You can prepare your own cube steak or buy it prepared at the meat counter.
Ingredients
Chicken Fried Steak
- 1 1/2 lb cube steaks
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp seasoning mix (like Tony Chachere’s salt free seasoning)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/5 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup frying oil (I use ghee)
Gravy
- 1/4 cup used frying oil
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 2 cups milk
Instructions
Prepare the cube steaks for frying by sprinkling some salt over them and patting them dry with paper towels.
Combine the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, seasoning mix, baking soda and baking powder in a shallow dish (such as a pie dish).
Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in another shallow dish until uniform.
Add the oil to your cast iron and heat over medium heat. It is ready if a drop of the flour mixture begins to bubble and fry.
Coat the cube steaks in the flour mixture (shaking off excess), followed by the buttermilk wash and then coat in the flour mixture again. Place the dredged steaks on a cooling rack over a pan layered with parchment paper.
Place your steaks in the heated oil and fry for 2-4 minutes/side.
Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined dish. Pat off excess oil.
To make the gravy, pour off all but 1/4 cup of the frying oil from the pan and add in the flour.
Once the mixture is browned, add 1 cup of milk and all of the heavy cream and stir. Add milk as needed to reduce the thickness of the gravy.
Optional: I usually use any leftover seasoned flour mixture for my gravy, but if you’re using plain flour you may want to add salt and pepper to the gravy. I find it often tastes perfectly seasoned just from the fry oil!
Tips and Suggestions for the Perfect Chicken Fried Steak
One of the most common issues people have with chicken fried steak (or anything fried) is the breading coming off during the frying process. I avoid breading issues several ways:
- The first is by drying the cube steak off with paper towels prior to coating.
- Fry the steaks soon after the dredging process; waiting increases the chances of lost breading.
- Once you place your steaks in the pan to fry, avoid flipping them more than once or agitating them.
- It is ideal to fry 1-2 steaks at a time to avoid them touching during the frying process. Missing any one of these steps can result in breading loss!
You can add a splash or two of hot sauce to your egg wash mixture to pack even more flavor!
Ghee (clarified butter) is our favorite oil to fry in, but you can substitute with other frying oils such as peanut, corn or canola oils.
Most people don’t keep buttermilk on hand, so you can substitute with normal milk + 1 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice.
You can keep leftover steaks for 3-4 days in the fridge. Store in an airtight container lined with paper towels to reduce moisture buildup. You can also freeze for up to 3 months! Avoid microwaving to reheat. Instead, put in a 400 degree F oven for 5-10 minutes.
Do not store the gravy with the leftover steaks. Keep the gravy in an airtight container 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.