Chicken-Fried Steak

KathyP53's Note:

This is from Southern Living. It's the BEST chicken-fried steak I've ever had. Talk about comfort food!

• Total Time: 22 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 12 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 3/4 teaspoons black pepper, divided
• 4 (4 ounce) cube steaks
• 38 saltine crackers, crushed
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 3/4 cups milk, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 3 1/2 cups peanut oil

Directions:

1. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper evenly over steaks.
2. Combine cracker crumbs, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, red pepper, and baking powder.
3. Whisk together 3/4 cup milk and eggs. Dredge steaks in cracker mixture; dip in milk mixture, and dredge again in cracker mixture.
4. Pour oil into a 12" skillet; heat to 360 degrees (do not use a nonstick skillet). Fry steaks 3-4 minutes. Turn and fry 2-3 minutes or until golden. Remove steak to wire rack in a jellyroll pan. Keep steaks warm in a 225 degree oven. Carefully drain hot oil, reserving cooked bits and 1 tablespoon of dripping in skillet.
5. Whisk together remaining 4 cups of milk, 1/4 cup of flour, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper. Add milk mixture to reserved dripping in skillet; cook, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, or until thickened. Serve gravy with steaks.

Reviews

[Snow White]

I've never been able to get a good-tasting, crunchy crust on chicken-fried steak with the usual flour-only and egg wash preparation. This recipe has fixed that! I whirred all the dry ingredients in my food processer for easy cracker crushing and to incorporate the spices and baking powder evenly. The crackers and baking powder did the job. Good, crisp well-seasoned crust which doesn't fall off the steak before it's out of the pan. I did not use all the oil it called for. About 1/4 cup oil worked perfectly for me. This is the recipe I've been wanting for 40 years.

[mommyoffour]

These turned out great. I really liked the mixture of crackers and flour. The times were spot on for cooking on each side. The gravy makes this dish fantastic. I served with mashed potatoes and corn casserole. My family loved it, thank you for sharing this with us.

[Kat Rahal]

This was a different dinner for us as we usually don't eat fried food. I made mashed potatoes and green beans with it and my family loved it - especially with the gravy. This is a keeper!