One of America's Favorites - Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken fried steak (also known as pan-fried steak, CFS or country fried steak) is a breaded cutlet dish

Chicken fried steak, served with mashed potatoes 

consisting of a piece of steak (tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and pan-fried. It is associated with Southern cuisine. Its name may be due to its similarity in preparation to fried chicken.
Chicken fried steak resembles the Austrian dish Wiener Schnitzel and the Italian-Latin American dish Milanesa, which is a tenderized veal or pork cutlet, coated with flour, eggs, and bread crumbs, and then fried. It is also similar to the recipe for Scottish collops.





The precise origins of the dish are unclear, but many sources attribute its development to German and Austrian immigrants to Texas in the 19th century, who brought recipes for Wiener Schnitzel from Europe to the USA. Lamesa, the seat of Dawson County on the Texas South Plains, claims to be the birthplace of chicken fried steak, and hosts an annual celebration accordingly. John "White Gravy" Neutzling of Bandera in the Texas Hill Country also claims to have invented the dish.
The Virginia Housewife, published in 1838 by Mary Randolph, has a recipe for veal cutlets that is one of the earliest recipes for a food like chicken fried steak. The recipe for what we now know as chicken fried steak was included in many regional cookbooks by the late 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest attestation of the term "chicken-fried steak" is from a restaurant advertisement in the 19 June 1914 edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper.
A 1943 American cookbook recipe for Wiener Schnitzel includes a white salt and pepper cream gravy.
Chicken fried steak is among numerous popular dishes which make up the official state meal of Oklahoma, added to the list in 1988.





Chicken fried steak is prepared by taking a thin cut of beefsteak and tenderizing it by pounding, cubing, or

Chicken fried steak with chipotle cream gravy

forking. It is then either immersed in egg batter and/or dredged in flour to which salt, pepper, and often other seasonings have been added (called breading). After this, the steak is fried in a skillet or, less commonly, deep-fried. Restaurants often call the deep fried version chicken fried and the pan fried type country fried. The frying medium has traditionally been butter, lard, or other shortening, but in recent years, health concerns have led most cooks to substitute the shortening with vegetable oil.
The cuts of steak used for chicken fried steak are usually the less expensive, less desirable ones, such as chuck, round steak, and occasionally flank steak. The method is also sometimes used for chopped, ground, or especially cube steak. When ground beef is used, it is sometimes called a "chuckwagon". Chicken fried steak is usually served for lunch or dinner topped with cream gravy and with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and biscuits served on the side. In the midwest, it is also common to serve chicken fried steak for breakfast, along with toasts and hash browns.
The CFS, as it also known, can be served on a hamburger bun as a sandwich, cubed and stuffed in a baked potato with the gravy and cheese, or cut into strips and served in a basket with fries and gravy, which is then known as "steak fingers".





Typically, in Texas and surrounding states, chicken fried steak is deep-fried in a pan and served with traditional peppered milk gravy. The same dish is sometimes known as "country fried steak" in other parts of the United States, where it is subject to some regional variations. Often there is a brown gravy, and occasionally the meat is either pan-fried with little oil, or simmered in the gravy. In some areas, "country steak" may refer to Salisbury steak, a chopped or minced beef patty in brown gravy.
Other meats may be used, with "chicken-fried chicken" having appeared on many menus, substituting a boneless chicken breast for the steak. Chicken fried chicken differs from the dish known as "fried chicken" because the meat is removed from the bones, and cooked in the fashion of chicken fried steak. Another term is "steak-fried chicken". Boneless pork chops, usually center cut, are served in this manner, as well as buffalo.










Chicken Fried Steak


 Tenderized beef cutlets are dipped in buttermilk and egg batter, then fried. Pan drippings are used to make cream gravy.



INGREDIENTS:
1 pound boneless beef top loin
2 cups shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
salt and pepper to taste



DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut top loin crosswise into 4 (4 ounce) cutlets. Using a glancing motion, pound each cutlet thinly with a moistened mallet or the side of a cleaver.
2. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1/2 inch shortening to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
3. While the shortening is heating, prepare cutlets. In a shallow bowl, beat together egg, buttermilk, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish, mix together garlic powder and 1cup flour. Dip cutlets in flour, turning to evenly coat both sides. Dip in egg mixture, coating both sides, then in flour mixture once again.
4. Place cutlets in heated shortening. Cook until golden brown, turning once. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Drain grease, reserving 1/2 cup.
5. Using the reserved drippings in the pan, prepare gravy over medium heat. Blend in 1/4 cup flour to form a paste. Gradually add milk to desired consistency, stirring constantly. For a thicker gravy add less milk; for a thinner gravy stir in more. Heat through, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over chicken fried steak.