CHICKEN FRIED STEAK
Use a meat tenderizing hammer to pound pieces of round steak until 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. (A cheap cut of sirloin, on sale, is even better.)
Rub your preferred spices well into both sides of the steaks. Salt and pepper are traditional. I usually use one of the numerous spice mixtures that you can buy, or I use salt and either the green Tabasco or Chipotle Tabasco. Experiment as time goes by. Put the steaks in the refrig for an hour in a covered container, to let the spices get well into the meat.
Put 1/4 inch of cooking oil in a fry pan that's just big enough to hold the steaks without cramming the steaks against each other and turn the heat to high medium.
In a wide-bottomed soup or pasta bowl combine a cup of flower, a tbs. of baking powder (to give the breading more body), and a tbs. of corn starch (to make the breading more crispy).
Dip the steaks in a wide-bottomed soup or pasta bowl that has a half cup or so of milk in it, shake off the excess milk, coat the steaks in the flower, QUICKLY dip the steaks in the milk again, coat them in the flour again, and put the steaks in the frying pan. Set your toaster oven to the lowest setting.
Fry the steaks until golden brown on both sides. The first side is done awhile after the top of the steaks become quite bloody. Don't keep turning and moving the steaks around, as this may disturb the breading. Turn only once, when the first side is golden brown. Put the steaks in the toaster oven.
Pour the grease from the pan into a container, scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits of breading (which you want in the gravy), leave the heat at high medium, put two tbs. of the grease back in the pan, quickly add and stir in two tbs. of flower, and constantly stir until light brown.
Then add 1 1/2 cup to 1 3/4 cup of milk (depending on how thick you like the gravy) and constantly stir until the gravy's the desired thickness, at some point stirring in salt and pepper to taste. The trick to keeping the gravy from getting lumpy is to constantly stir from the time you add the flower, and use a spatula to stir it and to mash down any small lumps that form.
Use a meat tenderizing hammer to pound pieces of round steak until 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. (A cheap cut of sirloin, on sale, is even better.)
Rub your preferred spices well into both sides of the steaks. Salt and pepper are traditional. I usually use one of the numerous spice mixtures that you can buy, or I use salt and either the green Tabasco or Chipotle Tabasco. Experiment as time goes by. Put the steaks in the refrig for an hour in a covered container, to let the spices get well into the meat.
Put 1/4 inch of cooking oil in a fry pan that's just big enough to hold the steaks without cramming the steaks against each other and turn the heat to high medium.
In a wide-bottomed soup or pasta bowl combine a cup of flower, a tbs. of baking powder (to give the breading more body), and a tbs. of corn starch (to make the breading more crispy).
Dip the steaks in a wide-bottomed soup or pasta bowl that has a half cup or so of milk in it, shake off the excess milk, coat the steaks in the flower, QUICKLY dip the steaks in the milk again, coat them in the flour again, and put the steaks in the frying pan. Set your toaster oven to the lowest setting.
Fry the steaks until golden brown on both sides. The first side is done awhile after the top of the steaks become quite bloody. Don't keep turning and moving the steaks around, as this may disturb the breading. Turn only once, when the first side is golden brown. Put the steaks in the toaster oven.
Pour the grease from the pan into a container, scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits of breading (which you want in the gravy), leave the heat at high medium, put two tbs. of the grease back in the pan, quickly add and stir in two tbs. of flower, and constantly stir until light brown.
Then add 1 1/2 cup to 1 3/4 cup of milk (depending on how thick you like the gravy) and constantly stir until the gravy's the desired thickness, at some point stirring in salt and pepper to taste. The trick to keeping the gravy from getting lumpy is to constantly stir from the time you add the flower, and use a spatula to stir it and to mash down any small lumps that form.
