Chicken Fried Steak

True Life: I live in the south and I love fried foods.  We usually don't fry food very often, so when we do, it is a treat!  I have been temporarily banned from frying things because I tend to burn them or they end up super greasy.  I have not yet mastered how to gauge how hot the oil is or is not.  So when it comes to frying, Aaron is the frying master!  I had chicken fried steak for the first time at Cracker Barrel and loved it.  We watched Tyler's Ultimate one time and the way he made it looked soooo delicious!  We bought his book Tyler Florence Family Meal and this recipe was in it, so we had to try it!  It turned out amazing!

 

 

Chicken-Fried Steak

(from Tyler Florence)

Ingredients:

 2 pounds beef bottom round, trimmed of excess fat (We used cube steak because it was already flattened and tenderized)

2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 whole eggs, beaten

2 cups buttermilk or whole milk

Hot sauce, to taste

Vegetable oil

3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup whole milk

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Hot sauce, to taste

Directions

1.     In a medium flat dish add the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and pepper, to taste, and combine well.

2.     In another flat dish stir together the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce, to taste, and season well with salt and pepper, to taste.

3.     Cut beef into 4 (1/2-inch) thick slices then pound out using the teeth side of a meat mallet. This tenderizes the meat. (Again, we bought cube steak because it was already tenderized)

4.     Dredge each piece of meat in the seasoned flour, then in the seasoned buttermilk and back into the flour, allowing excess to drip off.

5.     Set out on a rack fitted over a baking sheet and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 20 to 25 minutes before cooking.

6.     Add about 2 inches vegetable oil to a large cast iron pan and heat over medium-high heat to 365 degrees F.  (We don't have a large cast iron pan, so we used our regular skillet and just cooked the steaks one at a time)

7.     Once heated and working in batches, fry steaks 2 to 3 at a time until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove steaks and drain on a paper towels.

 

 

 

8.     Carefully remove some the fat from the cast iron pan, reserving 1/4 cup.

9.     With the pan over medium heat, sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk to make a roux, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

10. Once the flour has been fully incorporated slowly add the buttermilk and milk and continue to whisk until the gravy is nice and thick.

11. Season well with salt and plenty ground black pepper, then whisk in hot sauce, to taste. Place the steaks on a serving platter, top with gravy and serve

Had to add the fixins' to go with it! Potatoes and Biscuits!