A classic Texas favorite, Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy is made with tender cubed steak, pan-fried to a crispy golden brown and topped with white cream gravy.
Lightly salt and pepper both sides of cube steak; (if you want to make Chicken Fried Steak Fingers, slice the steaks into equal strips)
Soak seasoned steak in buttermilk for 5-10 minutes then dredge the buttermilk soaked meat in the lightly beaten eggs; then dredge in the flour mixture; be sure to press flour into the crevices of the meat
¾ cup buttermilk
Heat heavy bottom (cast iron works best) skillet with oil; oil should be hot enough to sizzle, but not too hot or it will catch on fire
1+ cups oil, vegetable or canola
Once meat has been coated in egg and flour, place steak into the hot oil; cook for 2-3 minutes; DO NOT MOVE THE STEAK; after about 2-3 minutes, turn the meat to the other side and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes.
Use meat thermometer to check internal temperature; when the center reaches 160ºF, the steak is done
Place on paper towel; salt and pepper to taste; serve and enjoy!
salt and pepper
Make the Gravy
Strain the cooking oil you used for the steaks; (you'll use the same skillet for the gravy that you used to cook the steaks in); pour ½ cup drained, reserved frying oil into the clean skillet; heat on medium
½ cup oil
Sprinkle in equal amount of flour; whisk (mixture will be clumpy)
½ cup flour
Add 1 cup of milk to flour mixture; continue to whisk; add another cup of milk; continue to whisk; turn heat to medium high for about 2-minutes, then reduce to medium heat
3 cups milk
If gravy is too thick, add final cup of milk to mixture and whisk until smooth
Add salt and a generous amount of black pepper to your liking
salt and pepper to taste
Serve over Chicken Fried Steak
Notes
Oil:You need about 1"inch of oil in a cast-iron skillet. A 10" inch skillet uses 1 ½ cups of oil. Add more if using a 12" inch skillet.Prepping the steaks:Soak the steaks in buttermilk for about 5-10 minutes; when you get ready to dredge the steaks in the egg, don't wipe off any of the buttermilk - just go straight from the buttermilk to the egg and then to the flourFrying the steak:
If you want "chicken fingers" slice the steak into strips first, then season the strips with a little salt and pepper. Dredge strips in egg mixture, then flour, and fry. These cook faster than whole steaks.
After you place the steak in the oil, let them cook for 2-3 minutes; DO NOT MOVE THE STEAK during those first 2-3 minutes. After, take a peek and see if the first side is golden brown; if so, flip and cook an additional 2-4 minutes.
If the first side isn't quite golden, let it cook a minute longer, then flip it.
If you're making more than 4 chicken fried steaks, you might want to refresh the oil after the first 4...some of the breading will fall off and the oil gets darker, resulting in a darker coating
Cream Gravy:
This recipe yields about 2 cups of gravy.
Use some of the oil from the fried steak to start the gravy; use the same skillet you cooked the steaks in
Here's how to make buttermilk in case you don't have any:Add the juice of one lemon to one cup of milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes and thicken. Now, you have buttermilk!