**Chicken-fried steak** is a beloved Texan dish—thin beef steaks coated in egg and flour (or flour and crumbs) and deep or pan fried. Although it’s a Texan dish, it bears some similarity to schnitzel. Although the history of the dish is a bit nebulous, but it appears to have started out as a way to make tougher cuts of meat appealing. And while there is debate around who invented it, my own theory is that it must have at least partially been influenced by the influx of German immigrants in Texas in the mid 19th century.
4 (4-ounce) cube steaks (see my notes about cuts of meat)
38 saltine crackers (1 sleeve), crushed
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 3/4 cups milk, divided
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups peanut oil
Garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over steaks. Set aside. Combine cracker crumbs, 1 cup flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and red pepper.
Whisk together 3/4 cup milk and eggs. Dredge steaks in cracker crumb mixture; dip in milk mixture, and dredge in cracker mixture again.
Pour oil into a 12-inch skillet; heat to 360°. (Do not use a nonstick skillet.) Fry steaks 10 minutes. Turn and fry 4 to 5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack on a jellyroll pan. Keep steaks warm in a 225° oven. Carefully drain hot oil, reserving cooked bits and 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 4 cups milk. Pour mixture into reserved drippings in skillet; cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Serve gravy with steaks and mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
**Notes**: Be careful not to crowd your oil. You can do two steaks at once, but I wouldn’t attempt more than that. If you drop the oil temp too much, you end up with soggy crust. Also, I get my oil all the way up to 375F before I add the meat–it helps compensate for that inevitable drop in temp. Second, I don’t use cube steaks—I buy sirloin and pound it thin with a mallet. The flavor and final texture is a lot better, IMO.
It helps to let the coating “cure” by letting the steaks rest on a rack in the fridge for about 20 minutes before frying. This helps the coating stick.
Their cream gravy here looks really pale for my taste–I make mine with a roux made with drippings from the pan and I add Worcestershire, too, so it comes out a little darker.
**Finally**, I know this gif says “country fried” and this might lead to some arguing…I’m calling this chicken-fried steak because it’s very similar to how I make mine (and even the description in the linked video uses the term “chicken-fried”). Some recipes for country and chicken fried steak are identical, while some country fried steak recipes skip the egg/milk dip altogether. I hope we don’t break into an argument about what makes it country vs chicken fried, lol.
Wassersammler
If you go to the south and call this chicken fried steak they’ll look at you like you have two heads. I grew up calling it chicken fried steak, but they call it country fried steak. I went to a diner and asked for “chicken fried steak and eggs” and the waitress was confused, and eventually brought me pan fried chicken and eggs.
Jackieirish
Made this one time; delicious but my God did my house (and myself) stink afterwards.
taitems
Ngl thought it was Charlie’s milk steak for a moment.
Schen5s
Ooooh I love country fried steak! Or chicken fried steak haha. Too bad Denny’s is the only place that sells it and I don’t like making fried foods that much
5 Comments
**Chicken-fried steak** is a beloved Texan dish—thin beef steaks coated in egg and flour (or flour and crumbs) and deep or pan fried. Although it’s a Texan dish, it bears some similarity to schnitzel. Although the history of the dish is a bit nebulous, but it appears to have started out as a way to make tougher cuts of meat appealing. And while there is debate around who invented it, my own theory is that it must have at least partially been influenced by the influx of German immigrants in Texas in the mid 19th century.
Source: [Southern Living](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDIdjMHvr_o)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 (4-ounce) cube steaks (see my notes about cuts of meat)
38 saltine crackers (1 sleeve), crushed
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 3/4 cups milk, divided
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups peanut oil
Garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over steaks. Set aside.
Combine cracker crumbs, 1 cup flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and red pepper.
Whisk together 3/4 cup milk and eggs. Dredge steaks in cracker crumb mixture; dip in milk mixture, and dredge in cracker mixture again.
Pour oil into a 12-inch skillet; heat to 360°. (Do not use a nonstick skillet.) Fry steaks 10 minutes. Turn and fry 4 to 5 more minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack on a jellyroll pan. Keep steaks warm in a 225° oven. Carefully drain hot oil, reserving cooked bits and 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet.
Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 4 cups milk. Pour mixture into reserved drippings in skillet; cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Serve gravy with steaks and mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
**Notes**: Be careful not to crowd your oil. You can do two steaks at once, but I wouldn’t attempt more than that. If you drop the oil temp too much, you end up with soggy crust. Also, I get my oil all the way up to 375F before I add the meat–it helps compensate for that inevitable drop in temp. Second, I don’t use cube steaks—I buy sirloin and pound it thin with a mallet. The flavor and final texture is a lot better, IMO.
It helps to let the coating “cure” by letting the steaks rest on a rack in the fridge for about 20 minutes before frying. This helps the coating stick.
Their cream gravy here looks really pale for my taste–I make mine with a roux made with drippings from the pan and I add Worcestershire, too, so it comes out a little darker.
**Finally**, I know this gif says “country fried” and this might lead to some arguing…I’m calling this chicken-fried steak because it’s very similar to how I make mine (and even the description in the linked video uses the term “chicken-fried”). Some recipes for country and chicken fried steak are identical, while some country fried steak recipes skip the egg/milk dip altogether. I hope we don’t break into an argument about what makes it country vs chicken fried, lol.
If you go to the south and call this chicken fried steak they’ll look at you like you have two heads. I grew up calling it chicken fried steak, but they call it country fried steak. I went to a diner and asked for “chicken fried steak and eggs” and the waitress was confused, and eventually brought me pan fried chicken and eggs.
Made this one time; delicious but my God did my house (and myself) stink afterwards.
Ngl thought it was Charlie’s milk steak for a moment.
Ooooh I love country fried steak! Or chicken fried steak haha. Too bad Denny’s is the only place that sells it and I don’t like making fried foods that much