Hearty Texas Goodness: The Perfect Chicken Fried Steak
By Patrick Chang 
July 13, 2010 
31 Comments
There are a few things that define me, and one of them is my love for chicken fried steak. Upon moving to New York City I discovered a city as diverse as New York City did not have a decent chicken fried steak! I have scoured the city, from Tribeca to Morningside Heights, for a decent chicken fried steak but have fallen short. I am convinced it doesn’t exist in New York!
It’s hard to get more Texan than a chicken fried steak. Whenever I tell people my favorite food is a chicken fried steak, I get the same response from everyone: an extremely perplexed look with a “huh?!?!, what the hell is a chicken fried steak?†Everyone seems to always think its some sort of fried chicken but I always have to explain to them it has nothing to do with chicken but a fried piece of beaten steak smothered in cream gravy. There is no chicken whatsoever in chicken fried steak. The only similarity is the breading and it’s fried like a fried chicken.
To satisfy my caving for, I set upon perfecting my own personal chicken fried steak. I have gone through batches and batches of failures until this past weekend – my most successful creation yet!
Chicken Fried Steak
- 5 cubed steak
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup corn starch
- Saltine crackers
- 1/4 tablespoon salt (I prefer sea salt)
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
- White pepper
- 1/2 inch of oil, butter, or melted shortening or Crisco (or all of the above) in your pan
I usually do not measure my seasoning but for the purpose of sharing my ingredients and recipe. I tend to eye ball everything.
- Get 3 empty containers out to create your dry batter, egg wash and completed battered chicken fried steak.
- Combine the flour, corn starch, and all the seasonings together in the dry batter mix.
- Take your cubed steaks and depending on your preference of thickness, you can beat it some more to flatten it out or just start seasoning it. I prefer to beat it a little more and try to get some seasoning in the steak. I season each side of the steak separately after I flatten it: sprinkle a pinch of salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and white pepper.
- Then proceed to beat the steak with a meat tenderizer. This way the seasoning is embedded in the meat.
- Flip it over and repeat on the other side.
- Take the beaten steak and dip it in the dry batter mix and make sure both sides are completely coated in flour. Set the floured steak aside in the 3rd dish.
- Repeat the process for each steak. Once you have completely seasoned and dry battered each of the steak in the first layer of dry batter, you can proceed to the next stage of battering.
- Take your oil, butter (I used an entire stick of butter), shortening, or Crisco, or a combination of all 4 (like what I did) and heat it up in a cast iron pan. While the oil is heating up, prep your second coat of batter on the chicken fried steak.
- Take out your saltine crackers and break them up into small chunks of various sizes and mix them into the flour.
- Crack open your eggs and mix them in the 2nd dish you’ve set aside in the beginning to create your egg wash, sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Now take the already battered CFS which are sitting and waiting in the 3rd bowl and dip them through the egg wash, making sure both sides are covered and let the excess drip off.
- Completely coat the chicken fried steak that just went through the egg wash in the new flour/saltine cracker batter.
- The pan of hot oil should be ready for frying, carefully place the chicken fried steak in the oil. Be very careful and don’t plop it down! Hot oil will splash!
- Fry for roughly 3-5 minutes till you have a nice golden crust and flip and do the same for the other side.
- Remove and place on a wire rack to cook and so the breading doesn’t get soggy and repeat the last step with all the other pieces battered steak.
- Now you’ve successfully created a Patrick version of a true Texan chicken fried steak!
Now onto the CREAM GRAVY! My favorite part. I think the gravy is just as important to the chicken fried steak as is the steak itself. This makes or breaks the chicken fried steak.
Cream Gravy
- Remove any charred pieces from the pan drippings as you don’t want any burnt taste in your gravy.
- If you have bacon, I usually fry up some bacon in the pan dripping to get a little bacon flavor and fat in. Remove the bacon after frying.
- Use the pan drippings and mix the left over seasoned flour (I usually try to not use any of the saltine crackers in the gravy). Blend well. It will be slightly cakey and thick but stir quickly to brown the flour.
- Gradually stir in 1.5 cups of milk and 1 cup of chicken broth.
- Add more liquid or flour for your desired consistency (cream gravy is suppose to be thick!) and I personally like to add more pepper to the gravy.
- Once the gravy is thoroughly mixed without chunks, it’s done! Smother and enjoy!
Voila! Taste the goodness!
In an attempt to create a NY chicken fried steak good enough for a Texan, we’re teaming up with Midtown Lunch and the Schnitzel Truck on a chicken fried steak!
Also, calling out to any restaurants in New York City who think they have the best chicken fried steak or can make the best CFS! We are interested in planning a chicken fried steak throwdown to benefit the Gulf Coast oil spill relief efforts. Compete and help raise funds to help the Gulf Coast region devastated by the BP oil spill! Email me and we’ll talk! How exciting would that be? Raising the bar, discovering delicious Chicken Fried Steak, or introducing Chicken Fried Steak to NYC and supporting a great cause at the same time!
Photos by Patrick Chang for Appetite for Good.
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That looks delicious!
haha aww thanks! You’re awesome Christina! Hopefully there is chicken fried steak in chicago since its in the midwest…
Heart attack on a plate, but soooo good! Awesome job!
make it make it make it! make alice eat it
Living in Central Texas I know a good Chicken Fried Steak when I see one.. and THIS looks delicious! Well done
I feel obligated to try this dish whenever I find myself in a Texas diner so I know exactly how you feel!
Thanks! it truly means a lot to me from a fellow texan that understands a good chicken fried steak
Looks like a man’s meal to me. I’ve never had chicken fried anything but chicken, this recipe looks like I may have to change all that.
aww nooo its not a man’s meal
Monica loves it! haha Tons of girls/women love it 
you should definitely try it! its my favorite favorite dish in the whole wide world yum yum i love it . its my first love!
Now that is my kind of chicken fried steak. Crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and blanketed with a smooth cream gravy.
In one of the restaurants I worked we had a Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy special every other week, and served it with mashed potatoes and green beans. It sold out every time!
Bon appetit!
=:~)
thanks
means a lot coming from a real chef! I’d love to learn more about the way yall made yalls chicken fried steak! I’m always trying to look for ways to perfect mine!
good job patty bear! It looks quite delicious and I’d probably request you to make this for me if it didn’t result in a second ass for me…:)
hip hip hooray! the master likes it
wooo hooo
i will make it for you! we’ve discussed cooking each other for the past i dunno 10 years and its never happened. wheres my big chinese feasttttttt?!?!
If you can’t find it, make it! This looks amazing! Good luck with your throwdown! Maybe Bobby Flay would be interested? Haha
Thanks! I think it would be a very unique fundraising event and what a perfect way to benefit the gulf coast region by bringing a dish from the south to NYC? I sure hope bobby flay would be a judge! He did a CFS throwdown with paula dean a few yrs back!
Oh that’s right, I remember!! Well, I definitely hope it all works out, and your chicken fried steak does look amazing!
This looks fantastic! Being from Panama, it took me a while to figure out the hole chicken fried concept. Since then, I’ve come to L.O.V.E. it! This looks amazing, especially the cracker breading.
Thanks! yea i randomly decided to try cracker breading! It worked out really well. its very very few but i always wondered how restaurants were able to get chunks of breading and i couldnt figure it out. everytime i used flour it was an even coat so i tried to mix it in with some saltine crackers! I wonder what it will be like with some ritz
with little more buttery flavor yummmmmm
I’m impressed! One question though — how many miles did you have to run to burn that off??
sigh dont remind me … i dont think ive burnt it all off yet… but wait dont you HAAAAAAAAATE chicken fried steak? haha arent you gagging from the unhealthiness ? :p
It’s gorgeous….a plate full of artery clogging goodness!
My husband loves chicken fried steak.
Your husband has excellent taste! I approve!
This is most definitely the most perfect chicken fried steak I have ever had the pleasure to view:)
Thanks! Its always a pleasure for you! thanks for stopping by
It tasted delicious ! It always tastes a little better after hard work!
Being a native from New York/New Jersey area I had never tasted chicken fried steak until I moved to Fort Worth, TX and it was a treat to indulge in this crispy dish. In Texas you can get it just about anywhere and is a part of Texas culture.
I agree! Im surprised its so difficult to find up here! i wish it was on every block like good ol texas! My favorite chicken fried steak place closed down a few years back and i still have been unable to find a replacement!
There hasnt been anything like it !
Texas ROCKS!
hahah awww you were finally able to comment
no more work blockage for sara!
I am a Texan living in NYC and I agree that a decent chicken fried steak does not exist here…I’ve been lookin’ for 11 years! Thanks for the recipe–I have been wanting to have a ‘Homesick Texan’ dinner party for the longest, and CFS is definitely the star of that menu!
I totally agree! We should do a texas in nyc party! i really crave tex mex and chicken fried steak! two things you cant find in nyc!!!
This recipe is amazing! I have to say, I was a little scared to try it because the instructions were so long LOL but it is actually quite easy. I also LOVE the gravy. Great idea to use the bacon. I never would have thought of that
Thanks!!!
If you love Chicken Fried Steak. Today is the day to come to Texas. It’s an official Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. Oct 26th. A signed proclamation made it offical. Come visit ya’ll.