Name: Chicken fried steak with gravy
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Southern American
Ingredients: 250 g all-purpose flour (2 cups); 2 tsp seasoned salt; 1.5 tsp black pepper (freshly ground); 0.75 tsp paprika; 0.25 tsp onion powder (or to taste); 0.25 tsp garlic powder (or to taste); 355 ml whole milk (1 1/2 cups); 2 large eggs; 1.4 kg cube steak (3 lb, tenderized round steak); 2 tsp kosher salt (for seasoning the meat); 1 tsp black pepper (for seasoning the meat, freshly ground); 120 ml avocado oil (1/2 cup); 14 g butter (1 tbsp); 40 g all-purpose flour (1/3 cup); 830 ml whole milk (3 1/2 cups, plus more as needed); 0.5 tsp seasoned salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper (or to taste); 900 g mashed potatoes (about 2 lb)

Chicken fried steak with gravy

Prep 25 min Cook 35 min Total 1 hr Servings 6

About this recipe

Cube steak double-dredged for a craggy crust, fried in a cast-iron skillet, and served with a peppery milk gravy built in the same pan.

Method

01

Set up an assembly line of three shallow dishes with a clean plate at the end. Whisk 355 ml whole milk with 2 eggs in the first. Combine 250 g flour, 2 tsp seasoned salt, 1 1/2 tsp black pepper, 3/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder in the second. Put the 1.4 kg cube steak in the third.
02

Work one piece at a time. Season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper, then turn it in the flour to coat. Move it to the milk and egg, turning to coat, then return it to the flour and turn again. Dry, wet, dry. That second pass through the flour is what builds the craggy crust.
03

Set each breaded piece on the clean plate and repeat with the remaining meat.
04

Heat 120 ml avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add 14 g butter. Drop a few pinches of flour in to test it: when the butter sizzles on contact, the pan is ready. If it browns immediately the pan is too hot, so pull it off the heat and let it come down.
05

Fry 3 pieces at a time, about 2 minutes per side, until the edges turn golden brown. Move them to a paper-towel-lined plate and cover loosely with foil or another plate to keep warm. Repeat until all the meat is fried.
06

Pour the grease off into a heatproof bowl. Return the skillet to the stove over medium-low heat without cleaning it, since everything stuck to the bottom is the flavour of the gravy, and add 60 ml of the grease back.
07

When the grease is hot, sprinkle 40 g flour evenly over it and whisk into a smooth golden paste. Add a little more flour if it looks greasy, a little more grease if it goes pasty and clumps. Keep cooking until the roux reaches a deep golden brown.
08

Pour in 830 ml whole milk while whisking constantly. Add 1/2 tsp seasoned salt and black pepper to taste, then cook, whisking, until the gravy is smooth and thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Add more milk if it tightens too far.
09

Taste and adjust the seasoning. Under-salted gravy is the most common way this dish disappoints.
10

Serve the steak alongside a generous pile of mashed potatoes, with gravy poured over all of it.

Notes & swaps

Dry, wet, dry. The second pass through the flour is what makes the crust thick and craggy rather than thin and papery.

Let the breaded steaks sit 10 minutes before frying if you have the time. The coating hydrates and grips better, so less of it slides off in the pan.

Test the oil with a pinch of flour. Too cool and the crust soaks up grease, too hot and it browns before the meat is cooked.

Do not wash the skillet before making the gravy. The browned bits left behind are most of its flavour.

Gravy too thick? Add milk a splash at a time. Too thin? Simmer it longer rather than adding more flour, which will taste raw at this stage.

Cube steak is round steak that has been mechanically tenderized. If your store does not carry it, ask the butcher to run round steak through the tenderizer, or pound it yourself to about 1 cm.

Make ahead: this one does not hold. The crust softens within minutes of the gravy hitting it, which is the point, but it means serving straight from the pan.

Storage: refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days. Reheat the steak uncovered at 190C (375F) to bring the crust back, and warm the gravy separately with a splash of milk.

Chicken breast pounded thin works the same way and makes this chicken fried chicken.

No seasoned salt? Use 1 1/2 tsp fine salt plus an extra 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika for every 2 tsp called for.

For heat, add 1/4 tsp cayenne to the dredge. The recipe as written is peppery rather than spicy.

Avocado oil is here for its high smoke point, which keeps the crust clean at frying temperature. Canola or vegetable oil work at the same volume if that is what you have.

Chicken fried steak with gravy

Ingredients

Method

Notes & swaps

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