There’s nothing special about this dish, except that it’s a total miracle.
It’s chicken fried steak, is what it is. I made it for Marlboro Man last night because I like him, because he drove me all over Kingdom Come this weekend, because he stopped at a gas station each of the 4,322 times I asked him to because I kept drinking iced coffees (TMI?), and because I like him.
I think I’ll keep him.
Make it for someone you like!
And plan on keeping.
To begin, you need an assembly line of ingredients:
A plate of cube steak, which is tenderized round steak that’s been extra tenderized.
You could also just use tenderized round steak.
You could also buy regular round steak and beat it to smithereens with a tenderizer.
You need a dish with milk and eggs…
Beaten together with a fork.
Next, you need a dish with flour. Sprinkle on some seasoned salt…
And some black pepper. I like to add a little cayenne, too; you can add whatever spices you think might float your boat.
For the assembly, dip the meat, one piece at a time, into the flour mixture.
Turn it over to coat.
Remove it from the flour mixture, then place it into the egg/milk mixture, turning to coat.
Finally, place it in the flour once again and turn to coat.
After this, place the meat in a clean dish while you repeat the breading process with the rest of the meat.
Heat some canola oil in a heavy skillet.
Fry the meat, three pieces at a time…
(If little chunks of the breading fall off, don’t weep. Happens to me all the time, man.)
Until both sides are golden brown.
Remove the cooked meat to a paper towel-lined plate, then get ready to make the gravy.
Now, that’s a beautiful skillet of grease. Look at those bits of deliciousness.
What you need to do first is pour off all the grease into a heatproof bowl, then add 1/4 cup of grease back into the skillet. Heat it over medium-low heat, then sprinkle flour over the grease. (Sorry. Missed the photo.)
Whisk the flour into the oil…
And cook it for a couple of minutes, until it turns a deep golden brown. If the roux looks more greasy than pasty, just sprinkle in a little more flour.
Pour in a couple of cups of milk…
And whisk until it’s combined. You’ll need to add plenty of salt and pepper to the gravy, tasting as you go. Under salted gravy is a sacrilege.
And grody.
(Pardon me while I slip in this shot from my cookbook because I forgot to take a finished shot last night. Don’t be like me.) Serve the meat alongside a big pile of mashed potatoes, then pour the gorgeous gravy over the whole thing.
It’s one of life’s real pleasures.
