Chicken Fried Steak

January 6: National Chicken Fried Steak Day

Howdy, y’all! Having lived in Oklahoma and currently in Texas, we are used to eating authentic, delicious down-home, Southern-style cooking. One comfort food we like is chicken/country fried steak (CFS), which is on Oklahoma’s official state meal list and is reputed to have originated in Texas from German and Austrian immigrants who introduced wienerschnitzel (see our blog post for a wienerschnitzel recipe) to the area in the 19th century. Ironically, there is no chicken in CFS—it is battered beef (tenderized cubed steaks) and fried like chicken. It fills up folks when served with buttermilk biscuits, cornbread or mashed potatoes with gravy and a side of vegetables. Celebrate National Chicken Fried Steak Day by cooking CFS!

Recipe

(Adapted from What’s Cooking America)

Ingredients

• 2 pounds cubed steaks, ½-inch thick
• ½ cup flour
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1+ cup buttermilk baking mix (we used Bisquick brand)
• oil for frying

Directions

Pound the steaks to tenderize them and cut into individual portions. In a bowl, combine the flour with the garlic powder, salt and pepper. In another bowl, pour in the buttermilk. In the last bowl, put the buttermilk baking mix. First coat the steaks in the flour mixture and shake off any excess. Next dip in buttermilk.

Finally dredge the steaks in buttermilk baking mix. Fry the steaks in hot oil until browned and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Notes

• CFS is traditionally fried in a heavy cast-iron skillet so that a pan gravy can be made from the leftover grease. To make the gravy, skim off all but two tablespoons of grease from the pan. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of the seasoned flour and whisk in about one cup of milk, scraping up some of the brown bits from the pan, until the sauce is thick and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste. This gravy can be used to pour over the CFS and buttermilk biscuits (see our blog recipe post for buttermilk biscuits for National Buttermilk Buiscuit Day on May 14).