Monday, January 21, 2013

Chicken Fried Steak Debate

Cube steaks are an inexpensive meat, which is why they are always on sale.  I only know how to prepare this cut of meat two ways:
  1. chicken fried steak
  2. in the crockpot
Lucky for me Darren's favorite meal is chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy.  For at least five years now, I've used the same chicken fried steak recipe.  It's from my Southern Living Top Rated Recipes cookbook and it's good.  We've always enjoyed it.  

However,

This weekend I whipped up some chicken fried steak using the Pioneer Woman's recipe.  

WOWZA

I will never use another chicken fried steak recipe AGAIN.  It was scrumptious.  I couldn't believe how much better/different the chicken fried steak tasted.  After my first bite I looked over at Darren and asked the infamous question, Well????

I took the full mouth head nodding as a YES.  Once he finished chewing he confirmed that Pioneer Woman's recipe was ten times better than Southern Living.


So, if you've stocked up on cube steak because it was recently on sale you too can have a chicken fried steak cook off.  

Pioneer Woman's Recipe

Combine 2 large eggs plus 1 1/2 cups of milk in a bowl

Combine 3 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of Lowry's, 3/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 11/2 teaspoons of black pepper

Season your meat with salt and pepper, and dip in the egg mixture.  Dredge in the flour mixture, dip back into the egg, and dredge again in flour. 

Fry it up & keep it warm.  (I do this by putting it on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven)

Onto the gravy.

Using 1/4 cup of the grease you used to fry your meat in, sprinkle in 1/3 cup of flour.  Whisk it up until you have golden roux.  Whisking constantly pour in 2 cups of milk.  The gravy should come to a slow boil, and it thickens while it boils.  Add a little milk here and there to keep it from becoming too thick.  Generously season with salt and pepper.

Side note:  I only made two cube steaks.  I would have had a lot of flour mixture left over, but I had some breasts that I cut into nuggets and used the same egg/flour steps above to cook some chicken for the girls.  They devoured it.  I still have some left over which I plan to add to salads today from lunch.  

Southern Living

Combine 3/4 cup milk and 2 eggs.

Combine 1 sleeve Saltine crackers, 1 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon red pepper

Season your meat with salt and pepper, and dip in the egg mixture.  Dredge in the saltine mixture, dip back into the egg, and dredge again in saltine mixture. 

Fry it up & keep it warm.  (I do this by putting it on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet in a 250 degree oven)

Onto the gravy.

For this gravy you will use the cooked bits and 1 tablespoon of the oil you fried your meat in.

Whisk together 4 cups of milk, 1/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper.  Add to reserved drippings in skilled, cook while whisking constantly until thickened.  

There you have it, you too can make both for yourself and decide which you like better.  Hope you enjoy!!



1 comment:

  1. I've used the Pioneer Woman's recipe too - - mmmm, now I want to make it for dinner!!

    ReplyDelete