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Chicken-Fried Steak

Source of Recipe

From "The Hattie's Restaurant Cookbook" by Jasper Alexander


Recipe Introduction

"Over the years I ran chicken-fried steak with smashed potatoes as a dinner special, and it always sold out. When we decided to start serving brunch, I knew I had the right spot to put chicken-fried steak on the menu for good. For brunch we serve it with gravy, two eggs any style, hash browns, and toast. It's restorative, rib-sticking comfort food regardless of when you eat it, and you can call the eggs a garnish if it makes you feel less guilty. You're going to use the three-stage breading process, with the only variation being that, after dipping the steaks into the egg wash, you're going to dredge them back into the flour instead of some other type of breading."

List of Ingredients

• 2 pounds cube steak
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• ½ cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1½ cups chicken stock, store-bought or homemade
• ½ cup milk
• 4 to 12 eggs
• 2 Tbsp chopped scallions
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley


Recipe

Preheat oven to 200°F and set a wire cooling rack on a baking tray to keep the steaks warm while you make the gravy. Season the steaks with the salt and pepper. Put 1 cup of the flour and the eggs in separate shallow bowls.

Dredge each steak in the flour until it is completely covered. Shake off the excess flour and then submerge the floured steak into the eggs, covering completely. Remove the steak from the eggs, re-dredge in the flour, and set aside. Bread all the steak before you start cooking.

Preheat a large, heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. There should be enough oil to completely cover the bottom of the pan, and you will need to add more oil as you cook the steaks.

When the oil is hot and shimmering, add as many steaks as you can without crowding the pan and cook for three minutes on each side, until they are golden brown. Transfer the steaks to the cooling rack and keep warm in oven. Repeat this process until all the steaks have been cooked. Pour off the cooking oil and wipe out the pan.

Return the pan to the burner and melt 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes while whisking. Be sure that the roux does not turn brown. Add the chicken stock and milk to the roux. Increase the heat to medium-low and continue to whisk until the mixture simmers for 5 minutes to cook out any floury taste. Check the seasoning of the gravy and adjust with salt and pepper. Arrange the steaks on a plate, cover with the gravy, top with 1 to 2 eggs per person cooked the way you like them, and garnish with the scallions and parsley.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.