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Chicken-Fried Steak

Source of Recipe

From "The Cook's Illustrated Meat Book" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"Chicken-fried steak traditionally consists of a cheap steak pounded to tenderness, coated, fried, and served with a peppery cream gravy. Most recipes we found called for cube steak�steak cut from the round and put through a tenderizing machine that makes cubelike indentations. Unfortunately, most butchers mangle the job, and the steak starts to resemble coarse hamburger. We wanted a cheap cut that would fry up tender and still resemble steak, and a coating that would be crisp and crunchy. Even though we weren't satisfied with the flavor and texture of cube steak, we used a similar technique to prepare a more flavorful cut. We decided to use sirloin tips and scored the meat at �-inch intervals to imitate cube steak. Scoring shortened the fibers and made the meat easy to pound out for maximum tenderness. Serve with mashed potatoes and Cream Gravy (recipe follows)."

List of Ingredients

◦ 3 � cups all-purpose flour
◦ � cup cornstarch
◦ 1 tablespoon garlic powder
◦ 1 tablespoon onion powder
◦ 2 teaspoons baking powder
◦ Salt and pepper
◦ � teaspoon cayenne pepper
◦ 4 large eggs
◦ � cup whole milk
◦ 1 pound sirloin steak tips, trimmed and cut into four 4-ounce pieces
◦ 1 � cups peanut or vegetable oil


Recipe

Whisk flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, and cayenne in large bowl. Transfer 1 cup seasoned flour mixture to shallow dish. Beat eggs in second shallow dish. Add milk to bowl with remaining flour mixture and rub with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Score meat lightly at �-inch intervals in crosshatch pattern, and then dredge meat in seasoned flour. Using a meat pounder, pound steaks to between ⅛ and � inch thick. One at a time, coat steaks lightly with seasoned flour again, dip in egg mixture, and then transfer to bowl with milk and flour mixture, pressing to adhere. Arrange steaks on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours; do not discard milk and flour mixture.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Return two steaks to bowl with milk and flour mixture and turn to coat. Fry two steaks until deep golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to clean wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining steaks. Serve.

Serves 4





❧ Cream Gravy:

"Avoid low-fat or skim milk in this recipe."

◦ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
◦ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
◦ � teaspoon garlic powder
◦ 1 � cups chicken broth
◦ 1 � cups whole milk
◦ � teaspoon salt
◦ � teaspoon pepper

Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour and garlic powder and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in broth, milk, salt, and pepper and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Spoon over steaks. (Gravy can be refrigerated for two days.)

Makes about 3 cups