Chicken Fried Steak

Halloween 2010
he was the Marlboro man
and I was a no smoking lady

     My Fiancé is from Texas, and as a Texan man he loves, seriously loves Chicken Fried Steak. We have been together for over 3 years and when we go out for breakfast if CFS (chicken fried steak) is on the menu he will order it, and with out fail almost every time he is disappointed. We now live in Portland, Oregon which means that this southern man is no longer in his Momma's kitchen or at his favorite southern spot. To a Texan Portland  can not live up to his Texas sized CFS standards. 

     After a long week at the restaurant I wanted to do something special for him. He works days and I work nights. This week I think we saw each other for a total of 10 minutes. Did I mention we live together?!?! Every lady who can cook knows that the best way to show a man you love him is by preparing his favorite meal. I would like to start by saying that despite the fact I cook all the time, I have never made CFS and the pan gravy with all the bits is like a foriegn language to me. I found this CFS recipe for my inspiration on how to tackle this love challenge for my Texan. 

     The recipe calls for "cubed steak" which is a process that the butcher does to tenderize the meat or you can do for yourself with a textured mallet. Without any frustrations on my mind I left the beating for my butcher. Most recipes call for round steak, I think any cut of inexpensive meat that is deeply tenderized will work all the same. At my local market london broil (which technically is not a cut) was all they had for beef under $10 a pound....

Back at home I soaked the cubed steak in buttermilk for 30 minutes while I went to work preparing the batter as well as gettin my mis en plas for the gravy. Most recipes you see call for the classic egg wash flour technique, but I like the ease of buttermilk with it's power to tenderize the meat at the same time. My Texan went to work making Mimosas and scrambling the eggs. We make a nice team in the kitchen. He would kill me if he knew I was using the above picture but what the heck I like living dangerously.

 I decided to use a mix of panko and flour for my batter seasoned with smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. I massaged the seasoning into the mixture which also helped to break up the panko into smaller bits. Panko gives the batter a nice crunch without all the mess of double battering the beef. I like to add a pinch of salt and pepper directly on the meat even with batter seasoned. Coat the meat in a nice thick layer of the batter mix. 

I decided to fry my CFS in bacon fat. Why? Because it's delicious obviously and I always have it on hand.  I did add a touch of coconut oil for a higher smoking point. With the oil super hot I dropped in my battered steak and watched them bubble with delight. As the blood pooled on top I gently flipped and finished cooking for another 2 minutes. The pooled blood is your indicator that the CFS is ready. I like to rest my steak on a rack to keep it crispy. If your making multiple steaks keep warm on the rack in low heated oven.

Now to make the gravy. I took about half of the oil out the cast iron, and added the flour to the delicious bits and whisked away. Cook out the flour flavor and then slowly add in the milk. We had  cooked some country sausage earlier that I like to add to the gravy at this point. To my surprise making country gravy was much easier than I thought. I have no idea why I have not attempted to make this before or why I thought it would be difficult. As I whisked (which must do vigorously for the entire time) I added a pat of butter, coarsely cracked black pepper, salt, Tapitio and a splash of a pepper garlic vinegar. I tasted my gravy and holy s@#t it was amazing! Look at all those tasty bits!

I danced with glee and even clapped, this is something I do when my taste buds get excited. My Texan just laughed at me all the way to table. In my first bite I knew I had a home run. The CFS was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The gravy had the perfect tang to cut through the richness.  I looked at my Texan as he looked at me and we knew we had just created a new family tradition for years to come.