Chicken Fried Steak

By Naz Deravian

Published December 5, 2023

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
50 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(222)
Comments
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There is, in fact, no chicken in chicken fried steak. The name of the classic Southern dish refers to the batter — the sort typically used for fried chicken — which coats cube steak, whose perforated texture provides lots of little nooks and crannies for batter coverage. That, and a double dip in flour makes for a delightfully crisp crust. Season the flour with the salt and seasonings used here, or try 2 teaspoons of store-bought seasoned salt or Cajun seasoning. Chicken fried steak is traditionally draped with a simple white gravy made with flour, milk, butter and plenty of salt and pepper. Make it in a separate pan with butter for snowy white results, or recycle the pan and oil used for frying the steaks for a tawny, speckled gravy. Serve with fluffy mashed potatoes and a side of greens for the ultimate comfort food. 

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings 

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 ½ teaspoons smoked or sweet paprika 

  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

  • ½ teaspoon onion powder 

  • ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne, or to taste

  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper, for seasoning

  • 1 ½ cups whole or 2-percent milk

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 ½ to 2 pounds cube steak (see Tip), cut into 6 pieces

  • Vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup), plus more if needed

FOR THE PAN GRAVY

  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour 

  • 2 cups whole or 2-percent milk, plus more as needed

  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

37 grams carbs; 134 milligrams cholesterol; 879 calories; 41 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 64 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 864 milligrams sodium; 39 grams protein; 7 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare your dredging station: Place the flour, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a shallow dish or pie plate, and stir well to combine. Taste a little bit of the flour mixture and adjust seasoning as needed. In another similar dish, add the milk and egg, and beat until well combined. Place a sheet pan or a large plate beside you as a landing place for the meat.

  2. Step 2

    Season both sides of the steak with salt and pepper. Place each piece of meat in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in the milk mixture, and then again in the flour mixture. Place on the sheet pan.

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Place a wire rack on a second sheet pan. In a large cast-iron or similar pan, heat the oil (about ½ inch) over medium-high until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 to 2 steaks at a time, without crowding the pan. It should sizzle as soon as the meat hits the pan. Fry until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as needed. (It’s OK if you lose a little bit of the crust to the pan.) Transfer the fried steaks to the wire rack and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining meat, adding more oil as needed.

  4. Step 4

    Make the pan gravy, if using. (For very white gravy, follow this recipe.) Turn off the heat. Using a mesh strainer, carefully strain the oil into a heatproof measuring cup or bowl. Discard any large bits left in the pan. Pour ¼ cup of the strained oil back into the pan and heat over medium-low. Whisk in the flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, scraping up any small bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Continuously whisk until the mixture becomes a thin paste, about 2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, slowly pour in the milk, continuously whisking or stirring until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (If the gravy is too thick, stir in a bit more milk.)

  5. Step 5

    Transfer the chicken fried steaks to plates and pour as much gravy as you like over the top. Season with more black pepper, if you like.

Tip

  • The best cut of meat for chicken fried steak is cube steak, an extra-tenderized round steak. Ask the butcher to tenderize round steak to about ¼-inch thickness. Or, you can tenderize it yourself with a meat mallet.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
222 user ratings
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Comments

Will

For sublimely tender steaks, rub 1 teaspoon of baking soda onto each steak before seasoning with salt and pepper.

Steve Owen

No need to strain the oil or discard the large bits - leave all that good stuff in the pan to elevate the gravy.

Julie, Sonoma

This is my secret (no longer!) not-good-for-you dinner. Crispy, well-seasoned, done in a couple of minutes. I find that there's enough flour residue in the pan to make the gravy without needing to make the roux, just get rid of the extra grease, deglaze with some water and then boil that down and add some milk; it thickens nicely. Serve with something non-guilt-inducing, like broccoli. A glass of good wine and you're good to go!

John

Never, ever put chicken fried steak on top of steaming potatoes, as the picture in this recipe shows. Why would you ever allow steam to soften the crispiness of the crust?

Anne Missavage

If you really want to be authentic, serve the gravy over rice. It’s much better than mashed potatoes. My mama was born in Louisiana and raised us on this stuff.

JB

Matty Matheson has the secret ingredients for the dredge and gravy, poultry seasoning and old bay.

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