Chicken-Fried Steak Recipe from 'A Taste of Cowboy'
Photo: Shannon Keller Rollins
From Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week: A Taste of Cowboy by Kent Rollins
Throwdown-Winning Chicken-Fried Steak
Makes 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
It’s safe to say I have fixed more chicken-fried steaks than any other person. It’s probably the most requested dish from the wagon. First of all, it ain’t chicken! It’s beef: a cut from the sirloin. There are three secrets to this dish: our seasoning, the Golden Fry Batter, and a good cut of meat. I know this is good, because it’s been cowboy-approved for years, but it sure doesn’t hurt that it also beat Bobby Flay’s recipe in a Throwdown. Chef Flay did give it a great effort, but you can’t show up at a cowboy’s wagon in the blistering heat, challenge him to a Southern fried specialty, and expect to win.
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup seasoned salt
3 tablespoons lemon pepper
2 tablespoons garlic salt
Canola or peanut oil for frying
4 (5-ounce) pieces tenderized top or bottom round steaks (see Tip)
Golden Fry Batter (recipe follows)
Creamy White Gravy (recipe follows)
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, seasoned salt, lemon pepper, and garlic salt. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, pot, or Dutch oven, pour in enough oil to deep-fry the steaks (2½ to 3 inches). Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches about 350°F.
Pick up one piece of meat with tongs and dip it into the batter and then into the flour mixture. Be sure both sides are well coated. Repeat, or as I call it, “double baptize.” Repeat with remaining steaks.
Fry the pieces for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with the gravy.
Tips: “Tenderized” steaks, which are cut from the eye of round, top round, or bottom round, have been mechanically tenderized by the butcher. They look like a cross between a hamburger and steak. You can also buy sirloin and tenderize it yourself with a meat tenderizing hammer.
You can replace the Golden Fry Batter with a mixture of 2 cups milk or buttermilk, 2 large eggs, beaten, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.
Golden Fry Batter
Makes 3 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
I used to be a milk or buttermilk and egg fan when battering meat to fry, but it seemed that the coating didn’t wanted to stick to the meat as well as I needed it to. This creates a thicker, crispier crust that is the secret to my chicken-fried steak and will work to create a golden crust on meats, veggies, or anything you dream of frying up.
3 tablespoons powdered whole egg
3 tablespoons powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
3 cups warm water
In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk, baking powder, and paprika together.
Dissolve the mixture in the water.
Creamy White Gravy
Makes about 2 cups
Prep Time: 8 minutes
Total Time: 8 minutes
I remember watching Mama and all those old women whip up batches of gravy with three simple ingredients: grease, flour, and milk. Gravy scares some folks, like my wife. Don’t give up on a batch of gravy: You can always bring it back with a little more milk or flour. And be sure to give it enough salt and pepper.
½ cup bacon, sausage, or other meat grease
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ to 2 cups milk, warmed
Salt and black pepper
Heat the grease over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet.
Sift in the flour and let it come to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring and mashing down constantly with a flat spatula.
Slowly stir in 1 ½ cups of the milk and bring back to a light boil. Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and reaches the desired consistency, about 2 minutes. You can add more milk or water to thin the gravy, if necessary.
