Chicken Fried Steak

I am a huge fan of one-pot meals. Less fuss, less clean-up... that is perfect for me.

However, there are still many times when I just want something more.

On tonight's menu... Chicken fried steak.

 

(Chicken Fried Steak with gravy, butter peas, mashed potatoes with gravy)

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pounds of beef (I use whatever is on sale, even the cheap cuts of meat)
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten with 2Tbsp milk
1 and 1/2 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
enough oil for frying (I have a large frying pan and need to use a little more than 1/2 cup)

In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Set aside. Put the egg and milk mixture in another shallow dish. And in a final bowl, put the seasoned bread crumbs.

Cut the beef into 1 inch thick slices. Each individual "steak" should be about the size of the palm of your hand and 1 inch thick.

Using a meat mallet, tenderize the meat. Pound each steak until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Once you have pounded all the steaks, dip each in the flour mixture. Next dip each steak into the egg mixture and finally into the breadcrumbs. Make sure to coat each steak completely with flour, egg and finally bread crumbs. Set the steak aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium.

Carefully place as many steaks as will fit into your frying pan. Brown the first side (5 minutes). Turn and brown the second side (about 5 more minutes) for a steak that is slightly more than medium-rare (a small sliver of pink through the middle of the steak). If you want a more well done steak, cook each side about 7 minutes. Remove the steaks from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Gravy for the Steaks

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp of the cooking oil you used to fry the steaks
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat (I use the same pan I cooked the steaks in, just drain off all but 3 Tbsp of the oil). Stir in the flour and mix well with a wire whisk until the flour is absorbed. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring with the wire whisk constantly. Add the milk and stir some more. Once the gravy has thickened, add 1/2 of the broth. Continue stirring to prevent lumps from developing. Once the gravy has thickened again, add the remaining broth and stir with the whisk to combine. Add the salt and pepper and remove the gravy from the heat once it has thickened slightly again. Serve over top of the steaks.