"Real" Chicken Fried Steak

And the Oscar for "Best Entree"goes to...

Chicken Fried Steak!

There's nothing like Southern-fried food to soak up the votes -- was it the Chef's heartfelt "Crazy Heart" performance, or the chicken fried steak's cream gravy? Either way, everyone comes out a winner with this cheap and satisfying Oscar Entree-winning recipe.

I've come up with a chintzy spin on this classic Texan dish; I use ground chicken (or turkey) instead of more expensive beef steak or beef ground meat. Bargain poultry chub in the freezer case is a light, appetizing way to go - I get mine at the 99c Only Stores, but even regular grocery stores carry it priced far south of two dollars a pound.

Ground chicken chub is trickier to handle as it is very soft and moist, but once you coat it in flour, it firms up enough. Also I make the patties rounder, instead of thin and flat. The recipe is classic Chicken Fried Steak otherwise - just coat floured patty in an egg wash and return to flour for one more coating, then fry it up.

Double dipping the patty in flour with an egg wash between builds an extra thick crunchy crust that holds up well to a smothering of Homemade Cream Gravy.

For a perfectly rich and flavorful cream gravy, I dissolve a chicken or beef bouillon cube into a tablespoon of oil or butter and mix in flour, finishing it all off by stirring in milk or cream.

Ingredients (4-6 patties)

• 1 lb. ground chicken or turkey - okay to substitute with more expensive ground beef.
• 1 cup or flour - add more as needed
• 1/4 cup of oil for frying - may need more, depending how many chicken patties you form.
• Salt & pepper to taste

Homemade Cream Gravy

• 2 tablespoons of flour
• 2 cups of milk, cream or half & half
• 1 beef or chicken bouillon cube - OK to use 1/4 cup of chicken or beef stock.
• Pepper - bouillon cube has plenty of salt.
• 1 tbsp. of butter or oil

 
Directions for Homemade Cream Gravy
In a skillet or pot, dissolve bouillon cube in heating oil or melted butter. Add flour, mixing well, cooking over medium heat for a couple of minutes to take out flour raw taste. 

Slowly add in milk (and/or broth). Continue stirring gravy to prevent lumps as it thickens, about 5-10 minutes.

 

 Chicken Fried Steak Directions
Open and add ground chicken chub to a strainer to take out excess liquid. (No need to drain off liquid if using real ground beef.) Add enough oil to coat bottom of frying pan and heat to medium temperature. Spread out flour on a cookie sheet or large flat plate and sprinkle in salt and pepper. 

Whisk one egg in a shallow bowl. Form chicken patty into a ball and place into flour. Coat well and turnover to coat both sides. Carefully add to egg wash, coating both sides. 

Remove and give patty one more coating of flour, both sides (you can't have too much of a flour coating).

Place patty into medium/hot oil and fry each side to a golden brown (ground chicken will flatten as you handle it - you can also flatten it some when you add it to frying pan - it firms up quickly).

Fry a couple of patties at a time if your pan is large enough. Cooking time varies depending how thick the chicken patty - it will be done when each side is golden brown. 

Add more oil for frying and flour for coating as needed. Ground chicken or turkey can be very moist and may soak up a lot of flour.