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One of the single most popular items in American-style restaurants in my neck of the woods is Chicken-Fried Steak. This consists of a cube steak or bottom round, needled, tenderized, and pounded thin, soaked in buttermilk, then double-breaded and deep fried. It’s usually then served smothered with peppered sausage gravy. This can be a breakfast, lunch, or dinner item, depending on the accoutrements on the plate.
A couple of eggs over easy and some hash browns on the side and I’m in heaven. If you’re like me it sounds great in theory, but feels like crap an hour or two later. I’ve toyed around in my home kitchen and come up with a much lighter version. Here’s what you’ll need:
1 lbs cube steak (3-4 cuts from most butchers)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 cup AP flour
1 cup 2% milk (or whatever milk you prefer)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Place the cube steaks in any type of container and cover with milk. This step begins to tenderize the meat slightly by breaking down some of the connective tissue.
While the meat is soaking (10-15 minutes tops), combine flour, salt, and pepper on a shallow container. I use pie tins for dredging like this.
Remove steaks from the milk, allow the excess to drain off for a moment or two, and then coat with seasoned flour. Shake off the excess and set aside on a plate. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. This makes the light breading adhere to your steaks better.
While your steaks are resting… warm oil over medium heat in a shallow saute pan, 10-12 inches in diameter, on the stove.
Place your steaks in the oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove from oil, drain, and serve.
I substitute the moisture in the dish, usually added by a liberal helping of sausage gravy, by cooking eggs over easy and serving them on top of the steaks. The broken yolks provide the moisture and balance that the steaks demand, and provide a pretty luxurious mouth feel, if I do say so myself.
If you have little kids like I do, and they don’t want runny eggs, scramble some eggs and serve them on the side. My kids cover the steaks in ketchup (gross!).
Keep plenty of salt and pepper on the table, and I’d recommend some hot sauce as well. Chalula or Tapatio are my favs.
Enjoy, and I’ll see you in the comments!
34 Comments
Huh. No buttermilk? How does 2% act in this recipe compared to buttermilk?
Picky, Picky. I never understand when people come on to someone else’s thread, and wonder why that person isn’t doing it better or their way. Just happens alot. No offense to you personally. But.
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I’ve been waiting for this recipe. Thanks, Kris.
Kris, I apologize for my comment on #2.
Thanks again, for the recipe.
I’m out, for now. Stay good.
I hadn’t thought about milk vs. buttermilk for this, but I’d think buttermilk might make the flavor a little different, although I assume the purpose is simply to make the flour adhere to the meat. Another plus might be that a lot of people routinely have 2% or 1% or skim milk in the fridge, but buttermilk is a separate trip to the grocery. And I dislike it, so would have to buy it specially for this recipe.
I wince at the very idea of chicken fried steak. But I do like steak and eggs, so I definitely will have to give this a try.
Wow, where did this come from? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?
Thanks, Kris, this does sound good. I don’t keep buttermilk around either, but remember that adding a touch of vinegar to regular milk is supposed to imitate the taste, also think thinning sour cream would work.
This sounds good, and I appreciate letting things spend time resting, getting the right texture too.
I hadn’t heard that about the vinegar. That would work for someone who doesn’t keep buttermilk on hand but prefers the taste.
Nope it just curdles the milk lemon juice same objection. Use the buttermilk or failing that a creamy slightly sour yoghurt. Dividing my time as I do between the Middle East and Denmark where buttermilk (Kærnemælk) is used often in recipes I can tell you from experience that it makes a HUGE difference.
I can also tell you that All my children and grandchildren are wild about the stuff. This afternoon I dumped some frozen rasberries and buttermilk into a liquidiser. Result instant frozen milkshake and six children with pink milk mustaches.
Typically buttermilk is about 0.5% fat which is well within the realm of sensible nutrition.
mfi
Yum! Thanks for sharing this, Kris. I’m a big fan of chicken fried steak, and this recipe sounds really good…..and lighter than the standard gravy and mashed potatoes. Sometimes I just have to go for the full gut-buster, but this recipe would allow me to enjoy this more often.
And msmolly, I can’t believe you live in Indiana and never tried chicken fried steak. Some of the best I’ve eaten is served up in Indiana and Ohio!
The yoghurt sounds like a good idea.
Spicy Chicken Breast With Potatoes
Ingredients:
• 400 grams chicken breasts, skinless (slightly under a pound)
• 800 grams potatoes, cut into thinnish slices marinaded (slightly under 2 pounds weight I prefer waxy potatoes to floury ones)
• 1.5 dl buttermilk (1.5dl = about 0.6 cups round it up rather than down ergo about ¾ of an American cup)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
Method:
1. Mix buttermilk, brown sugar, thyme, paprika, oregano, pepper, mustard and salt.
2. Put the potatoes into a bowl and pour 3 tablespoons of the marinade over.
3. Mix well and set the bowl aside.
4. Put the meat in the rest of the marinade and let stand at least 15 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade or 400 Fahrenheit.
6. Smear an ovenproof dish generously with a good cooking oil.
7. Remove the meat from the marinade and discard marinade.
8. Place chicken breasts in the dish and arrange the potatoes around the meat.
9. Bake approx. 35 minutes. until the potatoes are tender.
10. Serve immediately with green salad. A good old fahioned sharp lemon dressing works best for me with this dish.
Variations:
You can substitute yoghurt in the marinade. The above recipe is to Danish tastes. When I’m making this for myself I make it the way I was taught when I was a student in Qom using these spices instead:
In a clean, airtight jar, combine 2 teaspoons each of ground:
• cardamom, cinnamom, nutmeg, dried rose petals (if you can get them or dry your own which is what I do)
• Add 1 teaspoon of orange peel (dried and finely minced or zested)
Add as much or as little of this mix to the buttermilk and you have a Persian original.
If you want the Arabic version of the same dish as served by me to Mohammed Ibn Laith and his wife a few weeks ago then use this spice mix instead:
In a clean, airtight jar, combine:
2-3 teaspoons each of ground:
• Allspice, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, paprika
1 teaspoon each of:
• cinnamon, ginger, sumac*
1/2 teaspoon of:
• cumin
Sumac is an Arab spice that you will have to hunt down – it’s well the effort. Do NOT confuse the Arabic spice up with anything from the Sumac tree which is very poisonous
mfi
Works very well if you can’t get buttermile.
Dude.
1. I don’t cook much meat, so I couldn’t possibly know a better way to cook this than what Kris has offered.
2. I’ve always seen chicken fried steak done with buttermilk, and so I wonder what the different result is when not using buttermilk.
Demi, please don’t respond to my comments any longer.
Chris, sorry to disrupt your thread.
Yellowsnapdragon… demi has her moments; not sure why. I wanted to suggest that she maybe read yesterday’s PUAC, which dealt with being kind to each other. Of course, she hosted the chat! Your question was not offensive. We all have our moments, I think. Hugs.
PS: and demi did apologize to Kris. There is that.
Hey, MarkfromIreland, those recipes sound delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Might you consider also apologizing to yellowsnapdragon?
Hmmmm. Thank you, mfi. I would think the berries would disguise the buttermilk taste that I dislike. Not sure buttermilk is any better for you than regular 1/2% milk, though. But it might taste a lot better in a “shake” than extra low fat milk would.
yummy Kris!
Another possibility for those of us buttermilk challenged is to use Bisquick (buttermilk pancake mix) instead of flour.
I often use the Bisquick chicken recipe (on the box – Bisquick, paprika, salt and pepper) for an “oven-fried” chicken.
Enjoy :-) Both the Iranian and Arabic spice mixes make for very enjoyable rubs and marinades. Particularly with chicken or turkey.
The main recipe I gave is a firm favourite with adults and children alike in Denmark so should be popular with Americans too. The chicken part of the recipe goes well with rice if you don’t want to use potatoes.
I do use potatoes and I every time I cook it I remember the lady who ran the house I stayed in in Qom. She didn’t know very much about Ireland or Irish history but she did remember hearing that a lot of Irish people had died because they couldn’t get enough potatoes to eat. So she tracked down some potatoes for me and cooked ‘em Iranian style. Happy memories of kindness and good cooking :-).
mfi
As far as I’m concerned, the only way to prepare steak is to walk it through a warm room. LOL.
I think buttermilk is an acquired taste – it’s just that it’s acquired very early on in Denmark (and in Ireland when I was a boy).
If you don’t like the taste of buttermilk think you might be better off using a mix of yoghurt – perhaps a mild greek yoghurt – and milk rather than buttermilk. At a guess I’d use one tablespoon of yoghurt per glass of milk and frozen berries to taste.
(Any frozen berries will do. We have a lot of strawberries which we slice fairly thin and freeze for use in this sort of milk-shake/milk smoothie in the winter. Very popular with grandchildren and a lot healthier than many commercial ice creams etc.)
mfi
This sounds delicious. I’d probably substitute chicken legs/thighs for the breasts, since I prefer dark meat.
And a question: did you mean to have cumin listed twice in that last variation? I’m guessing not.
I eat a lot of chicken, so I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it.
Thanks, Mark. My dad was a fan of buttermilk, but I never learned to like it. I do make “smoothies” with Greek yogurt and some kind of fruit and crushed ice.
I have been buying a berry mixture in the produce dept of my local grocery. Big fat blackberries, blueberries, red raspberries, and strawberries. I often put it on spring mix salad and top with pomegranate dressing, and that’s lunch!
She also got testy with someone yesterday at PUAC. She’s normally a pretty sunny person, so I am guessing she is out of sorts about something personal and it’s showing up here. Let’s hope she’s back on an even keel tomorrow.
Meanwhile I *am* going to try the chicken fried steak, with a couple of fried over-easy eggs on top. And maybe a side of sourdough toast. (Groan. I can feel my arteries snapping shut just typing this.)
Oops the second cumin is a pasting error. Sorry ’bout that. The berry mix sounds most enjoyable.
mfi
Oops I meant to add that yes thighs work very well. For some reason they work best when boned (although that could be just me and my propensity to make stock at every opportunity).
mfi
Chow hound discussion about all things buttermilk:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/578336
According to this board, adding vinegar or lemon juice will curdle low fat milk but not whole milk. Also, buttermilk is a few calories less per cup than 2% milk (from another source). Buttermilk is freezable!
lol!
you and my mother would be fast friends
I make stock at every opportunity too. My favorite thing to do when I (infrequently) buy a rotisserie chicken in the grocery, is to make stock with the carcass, and then I freeze it in plastic bags.
I don’t think all of the goodness gets out of the chicken bones when the thighs are cooked in a dish like yours. Roasting them brings out the flavor, So I’d probably use them bone-in and still use the bones for stock.
Tee hee. I’ve discovered that grass-fed beef steaks aren’t for me, because they require longer, slower cooking. I chatted with the Amish guy at the Farmer’s Market who sells grass-fed beef, and he said I’d probably be happier with a roast than with steaks.
Beef is supposed to moo when you stick a fork in it, isn’t it??
I failed you guys in participating in comments yesterday! If it makes me look any better, I was participating heavily in some local activism planning.
Thank you all for the comments. In answer to the main question —
Buttermilk is used in a typical chicken fried steak to 1)allow the acid in the buttermilk to break down the connective tissues in the meat. This tenderizes the beef a bit more, and 2)allow the flour to initially adhere to the meat. Usually chicken-fried steak is double battered, so soak in buttermilk, dredge, dip in egg wash, then dredge again. I find that to be a bit crusty and heavy. The buttermilk also adds fat that isn’t really necessary. If you’re using a cube steak, the buttermilk isn’t going to change the texture or tenderness of the beef. I also can’t distinguish any real change in flavor profile between using buttermilk and a lower fat milk.
Again, thank you everyone who showed up. I’ll lurk around the thread today in case anyone revisits :)
Yes, it makes ya look far better, Kris. ;o)
But shhhhhhh; I hate make a suggestion after the kerfuffles against them, but I sometimes use 1/4 cup or less cornstarch mixed with the dredging flour to make a crispier texture.
Works well for oven-baked faux fried chicken and cod, too.
When I cook tofu planks, I sometimes use half and half flour-cornstarch, then use a liberal amount of large-flake nutritional yeast, and it’s yummy as all giddy-up. Depending on what flavor track you’re on, you can use curry powder, garam masala, chile powders, etc., too.
Anyway, thanks for the lite recipe.
Thanks for stopping by wendydavis!
I use cornstarch when I do fried chicken, and also a touch of it on the rare occasions that I bread pork chops. I love the texture it adds.