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Chicken Fried Steak is a diner favorite, and it’s never been easier to make this rich, hearty recipe at home. As a classically-trained chef, I thrive on recreating restaurant recipes in the comfort of your own kitchen, and the goal is that they turn out even better than you expect.
The secret to this fried masterpiece is the crunchy coating. It’s made with buttermilk and the perfect amount of spice, and it fries up golden brown and shatteringly-crisp every single time.
The creamy gravy is inspired by my French sauce-making experience with layers of flavor from garlic, onions, and thyme. Ladle it generously over your steak and a pile of mashed potatoes. This is hearty comfort food at its finest.
Table of Contents
What is Chicken Fried Steak?
In Chicken Fried Steak, the chicken-fried is an adjective describing how the steak is made: like fried chicken. Rather than being any sort of chicken product, the steak itself is battered and deep-fried the same way fried chicken is. It’s a confusing name for a delicious dish!
Chicken Fried Steak Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Buttermilk: Snag a carton at the grocery store, or to make your own buttermilk, pour 1 cup of full-fat milk into a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or plain white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes to curdle and thicken.
- Cube steak: Also labeled as “cubed steak,” this is the most common cut of beef used for Chicken Fried Steak. It’s most often made with top round or top sirloin steak that’s pounded flat and tenderized via a meat tenderizer. This prep step results in indentations that look like little cubes, hence the name. It’s thin, quick-cooking, and ideal for skillet meals like this.
- Chicken broth: Store-bought or homemade chicken broth; either will work well as a teammate to milk, herbs, spices, and aromatics to create the easy gravy recipe.
- Whole milk: If you prefer, use heavy cream or half and half instead for the base of this epic (seriously, wait until you taste it) gravy.
How to make Chicken Fried Steak
To make the steak:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 1 rimmed baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil. Line a second rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack on top. In a large shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cayenne pepper, 5 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper. In a second shallow bowl, whisk egg with baking powder and baking soda. Whisk in buttermilk.
- Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with one steak at a time, drop into seasoned flour mixture and turn to coat. Shake to remove excess flour, then dip in egg mixture and turn to coat. Return to flour mixture and dredge a second time, shake off excess flour, and set on lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining steaks.
- In a Dutch oven or large stock pot, heat 1 inch oil to 375 degrees. Working in batches, fry steaks until deep golden perfection all over, turning frequently, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer to wire rack and place in oven. Return oil to 375 degrees and repeat with remaining steaks (do not discard fat). Keep warm in oven while making gravy.
To make the gravy:
- Reserve 2 tablespoons oil and pan drippings from the pan and discard the rest (drain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve if desired). Reheat oil over in a large skillet or cast iron skillet medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until cooked through, about 1 minute. Whisk in broth, scraping up any brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Whisk in milk, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Bring to simmer over medium-high heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. The gravy will thicken more as it cools.
- Serve steaks warm with gravy on top and mashed potatoes on the side if desired.
Best Chicken Fried Steak Variations
- Make ahead: The steaks can be made ahead and kept warm in a 200-degree oven one hour in advance (cover tightly with foil to prevent them from drying out).
- Spicy: If you love heat, serve your Chicken Fried Steak with plenty of hot sauce or Tabasco. It cuts right through the richness of the cream gravy.
- Round steak: To substitute round steak, pat it flat with a meat mallet or rolling pin before proceeding with the flour mixture.
How to store this Recipe for Chicken Fried Steak
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Country Fried Steak is actually pork steak that’s coated with flour, fried, and served with brown gravy and onions. Chicken Fried Steak, on the other hand, starts with beef that’s coated with buttermilk batter, fried, and served with creamy gravy. They’re different but each is delicious in its own right.
There’s no wrong time of day to dig into a plate of Chicken Fried Steak, if you ask me. For breakfast or brunch, pair chicken fried steak with eggs cooked your way (scrambled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs; you can’t go wrong). For dinner, serve the Chicken Fried Steak alongside mashed potatoes and drizzle the silky gravy over both.
This recipe makes 8 steaks and 3 cups gravy, enough for 2 steaks and 3/4-cup gravy per person.
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Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients
For the steak:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk (see note 1)
- 8 (4 ounce) cube steaks pounded to 1/3-inch thickness (see note 2)
- 4 cups vegetable oil or canola oil
For the gravy:
- 1 medium onion peeled and minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (see note 3)
- 2 cups whole milk (see note 4)
- pinch cayenne pepper
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Mashed potatoes for serving, optional
Instructions
To make the steak:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line 1 rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil. Line a second rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack on top.
- In a large shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cayenne pepper, 5 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.
- In a second shallow bowl, whisk egg with baking powder and baking soda. Whisk in buttermilk.
- Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Working with one steak at a time, drop into seasoned flour and turn to coat. Shake to remove excess flour, then dip in egg mixture and turn to coat.
- Return to flour mixture and dredge a second time, shake off excess flour, and set on lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining steaks.
- In a Dutch oven or large stock pot, heat 1 inch oil to 375 degrees. Working in batches, fry steaks until deep golden brown all over, turning frequently, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Transfer to wire rack and place in oven. Return oil to 375 degrees and repeat with remaining steaks (do not discard fat). Keep warm in oven while making gravy.
To make the gravy:
- Reserve 2 tablespoons oil from the pan and discard the rest (drain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve if desired). Reheat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until cooked through, about 1 minute. Whisk in broth, scraping up any brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Whisk in milk, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Bring to simmer over medium-high heat until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. The gravy will thicken more as it cools.
- Serve steaks warm with gravy on top and mashed potatoes on the side if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Buttermilk: Snag a carton at the grocery store, or to make your own buttermilk, pour 1 cup of full-fat milk into a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or plain white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes to curdle and thicken.
- Cube steak: Also labeled as “cubed steak,” this is the most common cut of beef used for Chicken Fried Steak. It’s most often made with top round or top sirloin steak that’s pounded flat and tenderized via a meat tenderizer. This prep step results in indentations that look like little cubes, hence the name. It’s thin, quick-cooking, and ideal for skillet meals like this.
- Chicken broth: Store-bought or homemade chicken broth; either will work well as a teammate to milk, herbs, spices, and aromatics to create the easy gravy recipe.
- Whole milk: If you prefer, use heavy cream or half and half instead for the base of this epic (seriously, wait until you taste it) gravy.
- Yield: This recipe makes 8 steaks and 3 cups gravy, enough for 2 steaks and ¾ cup gravy per person.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
You started out frying the steaks at 350. Why do you raise the temperature in the fryer to 375 after the first batch of steaks?
Iโm definitely going to try this recipe.
Hi Lorain! So sorry about that, it was a miskey. The temperature should be 375 for the initial and subsequent batches. Thank you so much for noticing that! I hope you love it! – Meggan
If I could give a thousands stars I would this is a keeper
Thanks Gina! I’m glad you love it! ๐ -Meggan
I made this for my wife and me tfe other day and it was delicious and not that expensive to make using a cheap cut of meat that has been tenderrised a little messy but the finished product is well worth it
Thanks for clarifying chicken v country fried steaks. I’m making your recipe for our men’s group in April along with hash browns and pan-sized plain, egg omelettes for slice n serve. ย And maybe cranberry or currant scones.ย