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Chicken-fried steak
Crisp battered beef steak with peppery cream gravy
AmericanChicken-fried steak is Texas's unofficial state dish, served in truck stops, small-town cafés and Sunday after-church lunches across the Hill Country: a tenderised beef steak breaded and fried like fried chicken, smothered in white cream gravy with lots of black pepper, next to mashed potatoes. It came from German and Austrian settlers' schnitzel. Chef's tip: double-dip in seasoned flour, buttermilk and flour again for the craggy, crunchy crust.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the steaks
- 4 beef cube steaks or thin round steaksabout 150 g each, pounded to 6 mm
- 7 oz plain flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 cup vegetable oilfor shallow frying
For the cream gravy
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Mix the 7 oz plain flour, 1 ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika and ½ tsp garlic powder on a plate. Whisk the ¾ cup buttermilk and 1 egg in a shallow dish.
3 minStep 2: Dredge each of the 4 beef cube steaks or thin round steaks in flour, dip in buttermilk, then press firmly into the flour again. Rest on a rack 10 minutes so the coating sticks.
12 minStep 3: Heat the 1 cup vegetable oil in a large frying pan to 350°F. Fry two steaks at a time for 3–4 minutes a side, until deep golden and crisp. Thin steaks cook through in this time. Drain on a rack and keep warm.
15 minStep 4: Pour off all but 3 tbsp of the oil, keeping the browned bits. Whisk in the 3 tbsp plain flour over a medium heat for 1 minute.
2 minStep 5: Whisk in the 2 cups whole milk slowly and simmer 4 minutes until thick, then season with the 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper and ½ tsp salt. A common mistake is adding the milk all at once, which makes lumps. Pour the gravy over the steaks.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 690 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 42 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chicken-fried steak take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of paprika?
- Smoked paprika, half the amount.
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