Where's the Best Chicken-Fried Steak?

[Dave the Cook]

. . . or even Jiffy buttermilk biscuit mix . . .

[Holly Moore]

The gravy's prettier on the top, but more practical, and ultimately more satisfying, on the side.

It need not be an "either/or" choice. Both.

[Toliver]

The cut of meat used most often, especially in restaurants, is "cube steak" or "minute steak". It's usually run through the butcher's meat tenderizer and ends up pretty flat. Otherwise, you need to take your mallet to it.

That said, like fifi's recipe, at home my mom always used round steak that she'd take a mallet to before breading. And the breading wasn't mainly flour. She'd use mostly corn flake crumbs (which I think gave it a slightly sweeter taste) mixed with a little flour, onion flakes, garlic powder, S & P.

Pan fried, not deep fried.

My mom's gravy always sucked (sorry Ma!) and I've inherited her inability to make a nice milk/cream gravy. I don't think the eGCI ever covered a good ole southern milk gravy.

[fifi]

I think bread crumbs or cornflakes or whatever can be quite good but that isn't the classic CFS. You need the flour to get the right kind of crumblies left in the bottom of the pan for the gravy. Maybe that is why her gravy sucked. My great aunt... the CFS queen of all time... usually just used some of the flour from the breading process to make the gravy and added more black pepper. She owned a hotel in Brookshire TX back in the 20s and 30s, famous for its food. (She also owned the cotton gin. She was amazing.)

[phaelon56]

Some travesties include stringy gristly meat, overcooked and dried out, greasy bread crumb coating, horrible milk or cream gravy that can taste like flour, wallpaper paste, soapy, you name it with no hint of pan drippings. Also horrible is a cold over cooked cutlet with extra thick tasteless gravy.

Yeah. That was indeed the same place where I tried it. I think it was the Travesty Cafe.

[ghostrider]

Reading that web site is making me hungry. heheh.

Ok, well I've had wiener schnitzel. That, I get. If y'all can recommend a good place in NYC that serves a passable version of CFS, I'm definitely in.

Soba

When I lived in the West Village (going back about 15 years), there was a branch of the above-mentioned Cowgirl Hall of Fame (are they a franchise?) on Hudson St. that also did a very good version of CFS, complete with cream gravy & whopping mound of mashed potatos.

Last time I was down that way (few years ago) they were still there. Maybe they're still there now.

I can't claim to be at all passionate about the stuff - much too rich & heavy for my current tastes - but it was fun to try.

[ludja]

When I lived in the West Village (going back about  15 years), there was a branch of the above-mentioned Cowgirl Hall of Fame (are they a franchise?) on Hudson St.  that also did a very good version of CFS, complete with cream gravy & whopping mound of mashed potatos.

What do ya know?

It looks like they are the same restaurant (I saw a few distinctive menu items in common).

But as far as I can tell, only two restaurants, one in Santa Fe and on in NYC.

And you're right, it is ribsticking food.

Edited February 3, 2004 by ludja (log)

[FistFullaRoux]

The prototypical one is supposed to be available at Threadgill's in Austin. I've had it. It's darn tasty, but I don't know if it's the best one out there.

SobaAddict mentionel Schnitzel a moment ago. Parts of central and east Texas were settled by German citizens who were ripped off in a land scheme. They ended up there, and had to make do.

Odd, if you think about it, that the good CFS can be found in towns like Pflugerville, Fredricksburg, New Braunfels, Gruene, Schulenberg, New Sweden, New Bremen, etc and so forth...

Connected? Could be......

Schnitzel: Beef or veal pounded thin, breaded and fried. Served with gravy and vegetables

CFS: Beef or veal pounded thin, breaded and fried. Served with gravy and vegetables

[adobohead]

CFS for breakfast, with two eggs on top, scrambled soft. And a side of hash browns.

Which reminds me...I seem to remember having several good CFSs in my time at the ubiquitous Waffle House.

[kellymonaghan]

Wow! Thanks for the replies.

Looks like I'll have to make an excuse to go to Oklahoma.

[fifi]

SobaAddict mentionel Schnitzel a moment ago. Parts of central and east Texas were settled by German citizens who were ripped off in a land scheme. They ended up there, and had to make do.

Odd, if you think about it, that the good CFS can be found in towns like Pflugerville, Fredricksburg, New Braunfels, Gruene, Schulenberg, New Sweden, New Bremen, etc and so forth...

Connected? Could be......

Schnitzel: Beef or veal pounded thin, breaded and fried. Served with gravy and vegetables

CFS: Beef or veal pounded thin, breaded and fried. Served with gravy and vegetables

You've got it. I have read that the "breading" shifted to flour on the cattle trails or the ranch because that is what the cook had. The next natural step was gravy made with that flour. I'm not sure if all that is true but it does make some sense.

[Carlovski]

This must be an American thing. I still can't see the appeal.

Maybe it's time for a culinary experiment a la Steingarten. Can anyone supply me with a couple of decent recipes?

[NewYorkTexan]

This past weekend I found myself at the City Café in Elgin and we were discussing what constitutes a great CFS.

Located in a small town about 30 minutes outside of Austin, City Café opened in 1910 and is supposed to serve some of the finest CFS in Central Texas. Ordering the “small” CFS still provided a piece of deep fried meat that was hanging off the sides of the plate. (I assume the large portion is a full primal cut). The crust was wonderfully crispy, with a nice touch of pepper, providing my mouth with an excellent and substantial crunch. Unfortunately the crust/steak ratio was off and there was too much crust for the thinly pounded steak. I assume that they use a wet batter.

What restaurants are serving some of the best examples of Chicken Fried Steak????

[fifi]

The ratio of crust to meat is the most difficult balance to achieve. And it must be pan fried in a big ol' cast iron skillet, not deep fried. It makes a difference. Sort of like chicken. (We discussed this phenomenon here.) In a commercial operation, pan frying is not convenient so finding a place that pan fries it may be difficult. (Just like chicken.)

[Okbrewer]

Unfortunately the crust/steak ratio was off and there was too much crust for the thinly pounded steak.

That's my biggest complaint about most CFS places. They claim to have the biggest and best, that it fills an entire plate, and when you get it it is mostly batter with a few strings of meat running through it. When I get CFS, I want to be abel to taste the meat, dammit! The places that I mentioned previously all have a good meat to batter ratio, without the meat being pounded too thin and without it being to gristly.

The other no-no for a CFS lover is to order it and to find that the restaurant uses those preformed, fake meat discs! Ugh!

[stephenc]

The thinner the steak, the better. Pound that sucker till it bleeds!

[ludja]

From: click

"Chicken-Fried Steak – It is also known as Country-Fried Steak and affectionately called “CFS” by Texans. There is no chicken in Chicken-Fried Steak. It is tenderized round steak (a cheap and tough piece of beef) made like fried chicken with a milk gravy made from the drippings left in the pan. Although not official, the dish is considered the state dish of Texas. According to a Texas Restaurant Associate, it is estimated that 800,000 orders of Chicken-Fried Steak are served in Texas every day, not counting any prepared at home.

Every city, town, and village in Texas takes prides in their CFS. Some, admittedly, are better than others. Texans have a unique way of rating restaurants that serve CFS. The restaurants are rated by the number of pickup trucks that is parked out in front. Never stop at a one pickup place, as the steak will have been frozen and factory breaded. A two and three pickup restaurant is not much better. A four and five pickup place is a must stop restaurants, as the CFS will be fresh and tender with good sopping gravy.

History: The origin of the Chicken-Fried Steak probably comes from the German people who settled in Texas from 1844 to 1850. As Wiener Schnitzel is a popular German dish that is made from veal, and because veal was never popular in Texas and beef was, the German immigrants probably adapted their popular dish to use the tougher cuts of beef available to them."

Growing up nowhere near Texas (in CT) but with strong ties to Austria, I think this was why I never had to struggle with how to "get it", which several people have mentioned as a response to the concept of CFS. Besides the classic Wiener Schnitzel, there are many variants which include sauces, different coatings, eggs, etc., but I think I'll spin this off to another thread...

Anyway, regarding the original topic of this thead, "good places to get CFS", anyone have experience that the "pickup truck indicator" could be a good guide? Sounds plausible!

[Toliver]

I do not recommend eating CFS at any of the casinos in Las Vegas. They make them particularly bland and no amount of salt, pepper or Tabasco sauce can bring them to a edible state.

[joiei]

Chicken fried steak seems to be the national food of Oklahoma. In Tulsa, the place to go at lunch is Nelson's Buffeteria. They have been doing it the same way for 75 years. Nelson's with pictures

I just hope this link is legal. The photos of the Art Deco sign and the how to photos are great.

here is a link with a testimonial More on Nelson's Buffeteria, the epicenter of CFS in Green Country

Next time your in town to do a Bruce Goff architectural tour, dont forget to stop here for lunch. And they have a live western swing band on Fridays, continuing the Bob Wills music tradition that started at Cain's Ballroom.

[karenl]

The best CFS I ever had was in a small town just south of the Canadian border in Montana. Unfortunately, I can't remember eithr the name of the town or the cafe. It was crispy (like my Mothers fried chicken) and the gravy was exceptional - really peppery without overpowering everything else.

[chow guy]

Country Vittles Cafe in Albuquerque has damn good CFS, ( huge portion) served with great biscuits and gravy.

[Holly Moore]

Chewing back through my memories, I also remember a excellent chicken fried steak at Hoovers in Austin TX

[mcdowell]

The Truck & Travel truck stop in Van Horn, Texas, just off Interstate 10 and three hundred miles from anywhere, has the best chicken fried steak in the country, bar none.

If you're passing through at 3am with a jeep full of contraband, however, go for the huevos rancheros. It'll knock your socks off.

[chefrodrigo]

Chewing back through my memories, I also remember a excellent chicken fried steak at Hoovers in Austin TX

My friends in Austin who know how to eat say this is the place to get CFS. I can't wait, I'll be there shortly.

Rodney

[malarkey]

all include creamy white gravy and either home fires, french fries or mashed taters! Sides include green beans, brown beans or corn, and most places serve a big dinner roll or corn bread! MMM! mmm! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

"...and Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty.."

you got it. green beans out of a CAN! and a squishy parker house roll.

Best CFS: the ones my mother makes. Her gravy kicks ass too. dammit I can't duplicate it either. She's a Kansas farm girl, born and raised.

I SOOOO get CFS.