Chicken Fried Steak

Got the basic recipe from Bobby Flay but had to substitute out the diary products. I decreased some spices and increased others to please our family palate. Very Tasty. After making it several times, I changed up the recipe a bit to use up the marinade and the left over flour used to dredge the meat. It added a ton of more flavor to the gravy. We also save our bacon grease and I don't have to cook up bacon just to enjoy this recipe. I use about 1 heaping tlb of bacon grease for the gravy to serve 3 people.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 lbs  round steaks, bonless, fat trimmed and pounded a 1/4-inch thick
• 3⁄4 cup  non-dairy coffee creamer
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1  teaspoon onion powder
• 1  teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1  cup  Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 1⁄4 cup  grapeseed oil
• 4  slices bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1⁄2 teaspoon thyme, dried

Directions

1. Using a meat tenderizer hammer, pound out each steak to make about 1/4" thick.
2. Soak meat in mocha mix mixed with vinegar, salt & pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and set aside.
3. Duplicate the same measurement of the seasonings, combine garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, sea salt and pepper in a shallow bowl with your 1 cup of flour.
4. Drain meat of milk and dredge in flour mixture, then dip in milk again and then dredge in flour. Set meat on a rack set over a baking sheet while the oil heats.
5. Place about 1' of grapeseed oil in a deep fry pan. Once oil is heated add pieces to the pan and fry until brown. Do not crowd the pan.
6. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil, then immediately place meat on a wire rack and place in a warm oven. Continue until all pieces are cooked.
7. For your gravy, in another fry pan, cook up your bacon until very crispy. Drain on paper towels. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease in the pan and set the rest aside.
8. Add about 1 tlb of flour mixture used to dredge the meat in, to the hot bacon grease and mix until it looks like slush. If not thick enough, add more dredge until it looks almost dry. Brown this mixture but keep stirring it to keep from burning it. If you don't brown this mix, the gravy will taste uncooked.
9. Slowly add in the non dairy coffee creamer, (mocha mix regular) marinade (with the seasonings added) until it makes a thick, bubbly gravy. Taste then season with salt, thyme & lots of pepper if needed.
10. If you run out of dredge or marinade, just add more plain flour to thicken the gravy or non dairy creamer to thin it.
11. Serve each piece of meat with gravy on top and crumbled pieces of bacon. (optional).