Ingredients:

For the Chicken Fried Steak:

  • 4 beef cube steaks
  • 2 C flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1-1/2 C buttermilk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco Brand)
  • 2 cloves garlic – minced
  • 3 C vegetable oil – for deep frying

For the Gravy:

  • 1/4 C flour
  • 4 C milk
  • salt & pepper – to taste

Directions:

Make the Chicken:

  1. Pound the steaks to about 1/4″ thickness
  2. Place flour in a shallow bowl
  3. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, hot sauce, garlic, baking powder, baking soda, salt & pepper
  4. Dredge each steak first in the flour, then in the batter and again in the flour
  5. Pat the flour onto the surface of each steak so they are completely coated with dry flour
  6. Heat the oil in a deep cast-iron skillet to 325 degrees
  7. Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side
  8. Place fried steaks on a plate with paper towels to drain

Make the gravy:

  1. Drain the fat from the skillet – reserve 1/4 C of the oil and as much of the solid remnants as possible
  2. Return the skillet to medium-low heat with the reserved oil
  3. Whisk the remaining flour into the oil
  4. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release solids into the gravy
  5. Stir in the milk
  6. Raise the heat to medium, and bring the gravy to a simmer
  7. Cook until thick – about 6 to 7 minutes
  8. Season with salt and pepper
  9. Spoon the gravy over the steaks to serve