chicken fried steak

[torakris]

A fellow American friend (who also lives in Japan) and I were discussing food that we would never be able to find in Japan and chicken fried steak came up. And now we have decided that we need to eat it soon!

Neither of us ahs ever made it before and we can't find any recipes in any of our cookbooks.

Our biggest problem is that we have no buttermilk, is it still possible to make this?

[Dana]

Of course!! I use minute steaks here in TX. Dip in a mix of egg and milk, then in seasoned flour, egg/milk and again in the flour, basically double-dipping. Fry in hot veg oil (cast iron skillet in the best) for 5-8 minutes per side or till golden brown and crispy. Don't crowd the pan. Drain off the fat and make a milk gravy with the drippings. Season well with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Serve with mashed potatoes. delish

[Wimpy]

One way to get real buttermilk is to whip heavy cream until it becomes butter. The remaining fluid is buttermilk! I don't suppose that's very helpful, is it?

[azlee]

Our biggest problem is that we have no buttermilk, is it still possible to make this?

You can order powdered buttermilk culture on the internet. If I can find a packet in the house, I'll pass along a brand name. You just mix the powder into regular milk and let sit as directed on the package. It's a pretty good approximation of old-fashioned buttermilk.

[Ron Johnson]

You don't need buttermilk. Dana's recipe above is very good. The only thing I do different is use a different cut of meat. I usually use a small sirloin or slice off of a round roast, then pound it really good with your mallet. This is a key part to make it not so tough. You need to pound it really think and break up as much tissue as possible. The dredge and pan-fry.

This recipe also works well with pork.

If you like it spicy season your flour aggressively with cayenne and paprika.

[phaelon56]

I have never made it myself but chuckled when reading this as I recall a story from a restarauteur friend. A lady who had just finished having dinner in his casual BBQ / steak restaurant came to him to complain about the entree. "I ordered chicken fried steak" she declared.... "not only was there no chicken in it... the meat was breaded and had gravy all over it!".

[tommy]

I usually use a small sirloin or slice off of a round roast, then pound it really good with your mallet.  This is a key part to make it not so tough.  You need to pound it really think and break up as much tissue as possible.

you basically pound it (with one of those mallets with the spikes) until it's almost like chopped meat, yes?

[Wilfrid]

My problem is always that the batter - if I may call it that - tends to come adrift from the steak during frying. Over there, nice crispy coating, over here a naked steak. Any tips?

[Ron Johnson]

you basically pound it (with one of those mallets with the spikes) until it's almost like chopped meat, yes?

That is when its at its best. Of course it should still be one piece of meat when you are done pounding, and you dont have to have the spikes on the mallet to get the desired degree of poundedness, but yes you are correct about how to beat the meat.

If you dont wack it that much , it is very tough and unpalatable.

In the South this dish was created for cheaper cuts of meat that had been around a little too long and were a little "off".

[Ron Johnson]

My problem is always that the batter - if I may call it that - tends to come adrift from the steak during frying.  Over there, nice crispy coating, over here a naked steak.  Any tips?

Well first it shouldn't be a batter, but a rather dry to the touch coating by the time its ready for the pan. The last dip is into the flour. It also helps to use a sufficient amount of fat in the pan and to touch it as little as possible during cooking. preferably just one gentle flip with a deft utensil and thats it.

[tommy]

i hear that it's done when it floats.

also, ron is a hick.

[Wilfrid]

I'll try a deft flip with a gentle utensil. Thanks.

[Ron Johnson]

I'll try a deft flip with a gentle utensil.  Thanks.

Although gramatically more correct, suprisingly less likely to work.

[VivreManger]

"Well first it shouldn't be a batter, but a rather dry to the touch coating by the time its ready for the pan. The last dip is into the flour. It also helps to use a sufficient amount of fat in the pan and to touch it as little as possible during cooking. preferably just one gentle flip with a deft utensil and thats it."

The question of how to make it stick is one that Wilfrid and I discussed sometime ago. My instinct, like Ron's, is to try to keep the coating as dry as possible. I think it will also require a lot more oil at a higher temperature.

I am also willing to commit the heresy of avoiding the batter entirely and just coating with a well-spiced combination of corn-meal, flour, and matza meal. But I realise that is not a chicken-fried steak.

By the way, how did it get its name? My assumption is that it is a variation of the preparation for fried chicken, in other words steak that is fried as one fries chicken. In that case whatever works for fried chicken, i.e. thick batter, flour, and a lot of rolling boiling oil, should work for chicken-fried steak.

[Jaymes]

also, ron is a hick.

Perhaps.

But he's no tourist.

[Ron Johnson]

I am also willing to commit the heresy of avoiding the batter entirely and just coating with a well-spiced combination of corn-meal, flour, and matza meal.  But I realise that is not a chicken-fried steak.

For me a "batter" means the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together and then the item is coated in this wet mixture and dropped into hot oil and deep fried. This is not correct for chicken fried steak.

It should be coated evenly with flour so the egg will stick, then run through a beaten egg mixture until coated, then dredged in the flour again. Afterwards it should be a dry floury outside, not a wet batter-like outside. Then its pan fried, not deep fried.

We also call it country-fried steak, but then again, I am a hick.

[Robin Meredith]

It's not necessarily traditional, but I think panko might be an interesting alternative for the coating. I'm probably influenced by an amazing paneed rabbit with a panko coating I had in New Orleans a few weeks ago, combined with my primary chicken-fried steak reference point, a Greek coffee shop in Denver that served it for breakfast (yes, with gravy, two eggs, hash browns, and toast) and used more of a crumb-type coating.

This would also probably solve Wilfrid's "adhesion" problem - and the crunchiness of the coating might set off the gravy very nicely!

[Dana]

Rather than doing all that pounding, have your friendly neighborhood meat guy run it through the tenderizer for you. I'm not sure what cut of meat the 'minute' steak is, but I suspect it is part of the round. If you have the oil hot and don't crowd the pan, you shouldn't have much trouble with the coating separating from the meat.

[Ron Johnson]

Rather than doing all that pounding, have your friendly neighborhood meat guy run it through the tenderizer for you.

But, I think Tommy enjoys beating his own meat. With that mallet thing, I mean. Oh nevermind.

Edited March 5, 2003 by Ron Johnson (log)

[vengroff]

Rather than doing all that pounding, have your friendly neighborhood meat guy run it through the tenderizer for you.

Gotta get yourself one of these

[torakris]

Wow thanks everybody!

I think we are going to give it a try.

I even have a mallet , similar to the one in the picture, that we can toss back and forth.

Next question:

To sauce or not to sauce?

What kind of sauce?

[Varmint]

Oh, you must serve it with milk gravy. Hopefully, you've fried the beef in lard in a cast iron skillet. Drain most of the fat after frying the beef, leaving 2-4 tablespoons. Heat and whisk in your seasoned dredging flour, making sure to scrape the pan thoroughly. Whisk in about a cup of warm milk. Season to taste. Serve with mashed taters. Cornbread is good, too!

[KatieLoeb]

My problem is always that the batter - if I may call it that - tends to come adrift from the steak during frying.  Over there, nice crispy coating, over here a naked steak.  Any tips?

Doesn't it help if you refrigerate the "dipped" (or schnitzeled, if that's a verb) items to "rest" for a few minutes before dropping in the hot oil? The "one-quick-flip" theory makes sense too.

[Dana]

The milk (or cream) gravy is impairative. In fact, I don't think it can truely be CFS without it.

[Jinmyo]

I don't think I really understand this dish. Especially the milk gravy. Can citrus fit in here anywhere to cut the glueyness?