Broken Spoke's Chicken-Fried Steak

Miss Annie's Note:

Chicken-Fried Steak is so 'Texas', and the Austin dance hall has one of the best in the state. One of the old traditional ways to tenderize the beef was to pound the "heck" out of it with a Coke bottle or saucer. Rich, peppery gravy is a must for a successful chicken-fried steak. I recommend a round steak, pounded into tender submission by hand rather than machine-tenderized cube steaks.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• salt
• pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup cracker meal
• 2 beef cutlet , hand-tenderized (3 oz. to 5 oz.)
• vegetable shortening

Cream Gravy

• ¼ cup reserveddrippings or ½ cup shortening
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 quart milk
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. Whip together egg, buttermilk, salt and pepper in a large bowl; set aside.
2. Blend together flour and cracker meal in another bowl.
3. Place cutlet in mixture, and cover both sides well.
4. Submerge the cutlet in the egg batter; then place back in the flour mixture, patting both sides again evenly to coat.
5. Melt shortening in a deep fryer (or cast-iron skillet), and heat to 325ºF.
6. Place cutlet in fryer and fry until it floats and turns golden.
7. Remove steak from fryer, drain well, reserving 1/2 cup drippings for gravy.
8. To Make Cream Gravy: Place reserved drippings in a 10 inch cast-iron skillet, and heat until hot.
9. Gradually add flour, and cook over low heat until mixture turns brown, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
10. Add remaining ingredients, and cook, stirring constantly, until thick.
11. If gravy gets too thick, thin to desired consistency with water.
12. Note: This recipe makes enough gravy for 4 steaks.

Reviews

[Kim D.]

OH MY! Miss Annie.... this is the BEST chicken fried steak recipe that I've tried so far! I think the secret is the cracker crumbs and I wouldn't change a thing! It's even better than my Mom's recipe... but don't tell her I said that! LOL I'll be using your recipe for many years to come! Thanks so much for sharing!

[Laudee]

Shore glad Texas dreamed up this recipe! It really does a number on round steak. Super-easy recipe to prepare and hurry to the table. We enjoyed every bite. Thanks for posting, Miss Annie. Laudee C.

[Lisa Kaehn]

The chicken fried steak was out of this world, but I do believe there was a tpyo. on the Cream Gravy recipe. I tried the gravy recipe as printed above and both my husband and I were sick to our stomachs. I tried it again with equal amounts of grease and flour (1/4 cup each). This worked better for us and was just as tasty.