Chicken-Fried Steak with Cream Gravy
Submitted by debdup
Chicken-fried steak with saltine cracker breading and hot pepper sauce egg wash, pan-fried crispy and smothered in a milk cream gravy made from the pan drippings. Pure Texas comfort.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
18 minREADY
40 minThis is Texas on a plate. Tenderized round steak gets the full treatment: seasoned, dredged in flour, dipped in egg beaten with hot pepper sauce, then coated in crushed saltine crackers before pan-frying in corn oil until the crust goes brown and shatteringly crisp. The saltine coating is what sets this apart from flour-only versions, giving you a crunchier, more textured crust with a buttery, salty flavor.
The cream gravy is built right in the same skillet, which is where all the flavor lives. Four tablespoons of the frying fat and any browned cracklings get whisked with the reserved flour, then four cups of milk go in gradually to build a smooth, peppery white gravy that picks up every last bit of fond from the pan.
Serve the steaks on plates with mashed potatoes alongside, then nap both generously with that gravy. There’s no point in being restrained here.
Pro Tips
- Have the butcher tenderize the round steak, or pound it yourself to ½ inch. Untenderized round is too tough for this treatment
- Add hot pepper sauce to the egg wash, not just to the meat. It seasons the breading layer from the inside
- Reserve ¼ cup of the dredging flour before you start breading. You’ll need it clean and dry for the gravy roux
- Strain the pan fat and return the cracklings to the skillet. Those crispy bits dissolve into the gravy and add texture and flavor
Variations
- Use panko breadcrumbs instead of saltines for a lighter, airier crunch
- Swap milk for buttermilk in the gravy for a tangier, more Southern-style finish
- Serve with biscuits instead of mashed potatoes for a different Southern pairing
Ingredients
Directions
Season each steak on both sides with a pinch of salt and of freshly ground black pepper, rubbing them into the meat.
One at a time, dredge the steaks into the flour, then in the egg, then in the cracker crumbs.
Reserve ¼ cup of the flour.
In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, warm the corn oil.
Add the steaks and cook them, turning them carefully once or twice, until the meat is fully cooked through and the crumb coating is brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes total.
Transfer them to a platter and keep them warm.
Pour all but 4 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet through a strainer and discard it.
Return any cracklings from the strainer to the skillet and set it out over low heat.
Whisk the reserved ¼ cup of flour into the fat in the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring and scraping, for 2 minutes.
Gradually whisk in the milk.
Raise the heat slightly and bring the gravy to a simmer.
Cook, stirring often and scraping the browned deposits from the bottom of the skillet, until the gravy has thickened, 5 to 6 minutes.
Adjust the seasoning.
Arrange the steaks on each of 4 plates.
Spoon the mashed potatoes next to the steaks and nap both generously with gravy.
Serve immediately.
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