Chicken fried steak is a guilty-pleasure type comfort food. It’s not something that I eat often, but it’s really yummy once in a while. It’s surprisingly easy to make, but you need to plan ahead because the meat needs to sit in a brine for 2 hours before frying. After that, you can coat and fry them in less than 20 minutes.
Traditionally, this dish was made with cheap cuts of meat, but this recipe uses rib-eye steaks. It’s full of flavor, and practically melts in your mouth.
Let’s get started.
Trim excess fat from steaks.
Pound the steaks with thesmooth side of a meat mallet to tenderize and flatten to 1/4 inch.
Put all the steaks in a single layer in a shallow baking dish.
Make a brine using 1 teaspoon of table salt per 1 cup of cold water. Stir until completely dissolved.
Pour the brine over the meat until completely submerged.
Make more brine, if necessary. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
When you’re ready to fry the steaks, heat 3-4 cups of vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large, deep, skillet.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish or pie plate.
Lift the steak out of the brine, and dredge in the flour mixture. Dip back into the brine, and dredge a second time. Set aside until all pieces a coated.
Gently slide the coated steaks into the oil. Fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden.
Carefully turn over the steaks and fry the other side for 3-4 minutes.
Carefully remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate for 5 minutes.
Serve with White Gravy.
To make the gravy: heat 2 cups milk in microwave for 4-5 minutes on high power. Watch that it doesn’t boil over.
Melt butter in 2 quart saucepan over low heat.
Whisk in flour, chicken and beef bouillons, and pepper to make a roux.
Add hot milk. Stirring constantly, turn heat to high, and cook until thick. If it’s too thick, add more milk to desired consistency.
Garnish with green onions, and serve immediately.
- 2 lbs rib-eye steaks, cut ½ inch thick
- 1-2 teaspoons salt, for brine
- 1-2 cups water, for brine
- 2-3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon
- ½ teaspoon beef bouillon
- ½ teaspoon fresh pepper
- 2 cups milk
- salt to taste
- Trim excess fat from steaks.
- Using flat side of meat mallet, gently pound steaks to tenderize and slightly flatten.
- Place in baking dish and add enough water to cover completely. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt, and mix the solution. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- In large, deep, skillet, heat 1 ½ inches of oil over medium high heat to 350 degrees F.
- In shallow bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, and pepper.
- One by one, lift the steaks from the brine, and dredge in flour mixture. Coat well. Then dip back into brine, and dredge again.
- Gently slip steaks into hot oil. Fry half at a time for 3-5 minutes per side. Watch carefully.
- Remove to paper towel lined plate, and let rest 10 minutes.
- Heat milk in microwave on high power for 4 minutes
- Melt the butter in a 2 quart sauce pan, then stir in flour, chicken and beef bouillons, and pepper to make a smooth roux.
- Add hot milk, and whisk until it thickens. If it’s too thick, add more milk, to desired consistency.
- Serve immediately with Chicken Fried Steak.
