StovetopSouthern
Chicken-fried steak
Cubed round, a hard fry, pepper gravy. Texas lunch, not a grill cook.
Made it?
40 min · 35 min hands-on · pull 160°F · rest 2 min
Ingredients
2 lb on the fire · ~1.6 lb to the table · 3 plates at 8 oz
- cube steaks4 (2 lb)
- flour1½ cups
- kosher salt1 tsp
- black pepper2 tsp
- buttermilk1 cup
- for a shallow fryoil
- milk, for gravy2 cups
Method
- 1
Salt the steaks. Flour, buttermilk, flour again. Rest 10 so the crust sets.
- 2
Hot oil 350°F, 3 minutes a side until the crust is brown. Drain.
- 3
Pour off all but 3 tbsp fat, flour in, milk, pepper. Gravy should coat a spoon. Over the steak, mashed potatoes on the plate.
If you don’t have it
- cube steak → round. Keep the same pull. Leaner cooks faster and dries sooner.
- cube steaks → What you actually have, if it is the same muscle family. Cube steak is tenderized round. Do not buy a ribeye and hammer it.
Same cook, different day
Weeknight
Less time. Same seasoning, hotter fire, watch the probe. Do not skip the rest.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making grilled asparagus.
When the meat comes off to rest. Thick spears, oil, salt. Hot grate 2–3 minutes, roll, another minute. Lemon. Pencil spears go in a hot skillet, not on the bars.
10 min
- With this dish, try making street corn.
On the grate next to the steak, last 10 minutes. Husks off, hard heat, roll until blistered. Slather, cheese, lime.
20 min
- With this dish, try making buttermilk biscuits.
While gravy happens, or a ham comes out. Flour, baking powder, cold butter, buttermilk. Fold, stamp, 425°F.
25 min