🍗 Chicken-Fried Steak (Classic Southern Style)
Chicken-fried steak is a classic comfort dish: tenderized beef steak coated in seasoned flour, fried until crispy, and topped with creamy white gravy.
🥩 Ingredients (4 servings)
For the steak
- 4 cube steaks (or tenderized round steak)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk or buttermilk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Oil for frying (vegetable or canola)
For the white gravy
- 2 tbsp oil or pan drippings
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- Salt and black pepper to taste
🍳 Instructions
1️⃣ Prepare the Coating
- In a bowl, mix flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.
- In another bowl, whisk eggs and milk together.
2️⃣ Coat the Steaks
- Pat the steaks dry.
- Dredge each steak in flour mixture.
- Dip into egg mixture.
- Coat again in flour for a thick crust.
Tip: Press the flour onto the steak so the coating sticks well.
3️⃣ Fry the Steak
- Heat about 1–1.5 cm oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Fry steaks 3–4 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy.
- Remove and place on paper towels.
4️⃣ Make the Cream Gravy
- Leave 2 tbsp oil or drippings in the pan.
- Stir in 2 tbsp flour and cook 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in milk.
- Cook until thick, stirring constantly.
- Season with salt and lots of black pepper.
5️⃣ Serve
Place the crispy steak on a plate and pour warm gravy over the top.
Popular sides:
- Mashed potatoes 🥔
- Biscuits
- Green beans
- Corn
✅ Cooking tip:
For extra tender steak, pound it lightly with a meat mallet before coating.
If you’d like, I can also show you:
- 🔥 The secret restaurant trick for ultra-crispy chicken-fried steak
- 🥘 An easy oven-baked version (less oil)
- 🇵🇰 How to make a spicy Southern-Pakistani fusion version.