Banquet Chicken Fried Beef Steak Meal - Deal of the Day

I didn't want to like it, but I kinda do. You'll get your weekly salt requirement in this one frozen meal by Banquet. And, too much ground black pepper here is welcome -- that I can easily handle.

I get this Deal of the Day, Banquet Chicken Fried Beef Steak Meal, at my local Ralphs for a buck apiece, with my grocery store card. I've also seen a Banquet Chicken Fried Chicken Meal made with chicken, instead of beef.

It's a schizoid meal, tasty sweet corn and so-so mashed potatoes; nice crust with a too-thin beef  patty; and rich creamy milk gravy that's too salty. I have a recipe here, that's easier on the taste buds, and lighter, too, as it's made with low fat ground chicken.

Biting into this meal for the first time is like chewing on a salt lick. It satisfies the paleolithic part of the brain's sodium craving. (Although after a couple of  these meals, the salt is less noticeable.) The fresh frozen corn is there to help balance this out. It's sweet and tender and is a highlight to this meal.

The potatoes are dull though - no texture, just a mushy tasteless carb. It's main function is to sop up the tasty cream gravy. Maybe a little veggie texture, with butter flavoring, would help?

The way too long ingredient list may put you off, but if you can look past it, it's an okay meal -- every once in a while.

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While the meat patty is thin, the crust is thick and quite tasty. It even holds up after micowaving. While over-seasoned, that's normal for many Southern recipes and frozen fare. Chicken Fried Steak is a staple there, like fried chicken, except with a cheap slab of round steak, that's been pounded and fork-poked to tenderness. And the cheapest substitution is using ground beef or chicken, like here.

Chicken Fried Steak is believed to have originated with German and Austrian immigrants to Texas in the 1800's. If you've had Wiener Schnitzel before, then you'll notice the similarity. 

And it's always topped with cream gravy and there's plenty of it here. The gravy is over-salted, but flavorful. You'll dip the potatoes and battered steak in it, to get every last drop.

I wouldn't eat this too often, especially, if your salt intake is restricted.

So, how does Banquet Chicken Fried Beef Steak Meal rate on my cheap$kate dining scale of 1-9, 9 being best? Well, I give this Deal of the Day a guilt-ridden 7. There are problems, but I will probably be back for seconds - at least, until the heart doctor warns me off it!

If you are an ex-Southerner missing Chicken Fried Steak, then try it out; but if you live in Texas and have access to the real thing, then this meal will have you taking up arms in front your local grocery frozen case, crying foul, shouting "Remember the real Chicken Fried Steak!"  

Deal of the Day - Taco Bell Fiesta Steak Bowlz

Yummy and runny is how I would describe Taco Bell's grocery shelf Fiesta Steak Bowlz. My first impression, upon peeling back the plastic cover to reveal a brown mushy mess was: "I hope it tastes better than it looks!"

But don't be deceived by this Deal of the Day's unappealing appearance. An immediate plus was that this monochromatic meal in a bowl is ready to eat (not frozen); so it microwaves to hot in a little over a minute, with no biting into cold spots (a typical problem of microwaved frozen fare).

As for the ingredients, the cover shows a lot of red and green bell pepper slices - mine had just a few slivers but that was enough; this is one pungent vegetable that can easily overpower any dish. I especially liked the Mexican-style tomato and salsa rice, made more intense with garlic and onion. But the refried beans were too mushy and mashed; I would have liked a few larger pieces to recognize what I am eating.

The beef steak strips were tender and flavorful, very well done. I liked the chile sauce that binds it all together. There was even a slight chile burn that lingered on my tongue after the meal.

It's a light entree, just 300 calories, at 9 ounces. This rice, bean and beef bowl won't satisfy a hearty appetite, but it's good enough for a light lunch. On a scale of 1-9, 9 being best, I give Taco Bell's Fiesta Steak Bowlz an 8 ! I would definitely try it again, especially for 99.99 cents. I got mine at this 99c only Store.

"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.

2010 Oscar Special - Video

All boundaries are crossed including gender, race, and good taste in this year's "The 99 Cent Chef's Oscar Special." The Chef hams it up with a deli-case worth of meaty Oscar nominated roles -- from Meryl Streep's celebratory turn as Julia Child to egocentric James Cameron directing his bombastic Avatar -- and a tasty Oscar-ready entree is paired with 5 mind-blowing, performances!

Best Actress performances are always the meatiest roles, and The Chef's bon vivant spin as Julia Child will surely bring a smile to Academy voters when he/she serves up sumptuous Beef Bourguignon while wearing the family jewels.

Next, when the chameleon cook takes a spin as Gabourey Sidibe, the boa feathers will fly when her abusive mother wakes "Precious" from her dancing daydream.

Some Best Director nominees are notorious as perfectionist screamers -- and at the top of the list is James "I'm king of the world" Cameron. Watch me feast on his bloated ego as he directs the over-stuffed "Avatar."

The Chef swings a bat to bring home the bacon from Best Picture nominee Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds." And fitting for a Tarantino-style shocking scene, the Chef serves up a dish that will have tongues wagging.

And finally, the Chef gets serious with an endearing, beer-soaked turn as Best Actor nominee Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart." And he serves up a Southern soul-satisfying dish.

Each of The Chef's performances is paired with an entree. Which one is deserving of a Golden Whisk? Well, you don't have to be a member of the Academy to vote: just leave your comment, and The Chef will tally the votes and announce the winning entree (with step-by-step cooking instructions) in a follow up blog-post.

Vote for an Oscar-worthy entree, including: Beef Bourguignon, Chicken-Fried Steak, Sunny Side Up Eggs, Bunny Burger Royale with Cheese, & a Whopper Jr.

If you missed any of these movies, click on the underlined link to view the movie trailer for each Oscar Nominee I have taken on:
"Crazy Heart" with Jeff Bridges, "Julie & Julia" starring Meryl Streep, "Avatar" directed by James Cameron, Best Picture nominee "Inglorious Basterds" and Gabourney Sidibe as "Precious."

So until the real Oscar broadcast rolls this Sunday, take a few minutes and check out The 99 Cent Chef's latest video -- presented in wide-screen ChefScope! And don't forget to vote (as a comment) for your favorite Oscar Nominated Best Entree!

2010 Oscar Special - Video

*Play it here. The video runs 4 minutes 45 seconds.

99 thanks to Bob McGinness (creative camerawork) & Pete Handelman (clever voice-over work) for their invaluable contributions! Be sure to check out Pete's funny videos by clicking here.
Click here to embed or view video at youtube.