Steak Fingers with Cream Gravy Dipping Sauce

Steak Fingers with Cream Gravy Dipping Sauce

Who am I kidding? This is just my standard chicken-fried steak recipe, except I cut the tenderized round steak into “fingers” and turned them into dipping food! I was trying to think of something different to make with one of the many packages of tenderized top round in our freezer from the cow quarter we bought last year. It also needed to be something my daughter would eat. My daughter is a huge fan of my Garlicky Parmesan Chicken Tenders, so figured she’d go along with this idea of steak prepared in somewhat the same manner. (Although I bake the chicken tenders, not fry them.)

As expected, these were a hit! She liked them so much she brought leftovers to school the next day for lunch. And yes, my husband liked them too but he also likes my chicken-fried steak when I make it. Instead of serving with the usual mashed potatoes and green beans, I made french fries and a salad to go with this. (Plus then I could dip my fries in the gravy sauce too!)

Here is what I did:

Steak Fingers with Cream Gravy Dipping Sauce

1.5 to 2 pounds tenderized top round steak (or cube steak)
Ground pepper, and salt or Mrs. Dash, to taste
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
More black pepper and Mrs. Dash, to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less if you don’t want too spicy)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon butter
Vegetable oil, for skillet
2 tablespoons reserved cornmeal, flour mixture, or just plain flour
2 cups milk
More ground black pepper, for gravy

Cut the steak into strips across the grain about 1-inch wide and season them with pepper and salt, or Mrs. Dash, to taste. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. In yet another shallow bowl or on a large plate, mixed together the flour, cornmeal, and spices with a fork until well blended.

Breaded Steak Fingers Ready to Cook

Dredge the steak fingers, one at a time, first through the cornmeal/flour mixture, then in the egg, then back into the mixture until well coated. Set in a single layer on a cooking sheet. Your fingers will get clumpy after a while, so you will have to rinse your hands a few times. Dredge until all pieces are coated.

Frying the First Side of Steak

Add the butter and vegetable oil to a large cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet and heat over medium, to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the steak fingers with tongs one at a time, leaving space between them. Do not overcrowd the pan. You will have to do this in batches. Cook on each side for a few minutes until golden brown and no more red juice is seeping from the steak. Remove to paper-towel lined plate and continue cooking the rest of the steak.

Frying the Second Side of Steak

Once all the steak fingers are cooked, pour out all but a couple of tablespoons of oil from the pan. Whisk in about 2 tablespoons of the reserved cornmeal/flower mixture, or add in new flour if you ran out or forgot to save some. Continue whisking until a golden brown, then pour in the milk all at once. Continue whisking and stirring until the the cream gravy is the consistency you want. If it gets too thick, you can add more milk or water.

Whisking the Cream Gravy Dipping Sauce

Remove from heat, pour into dipping bowls, and serve with the steak fingers. Finger-licking good!

Steak Fingers with Cream Gravy Dipping Sauce

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

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Texas Chicken-Fried Steak with all the Fixin’s

Chicken Fried Steak with all the Fixin’s

We are hosting a foreign exchange student (Caroline) from France for three weeks, so my blogging has been (and will be) a bit spotty as we try to entertain her and introduce her to the “American” style of living. And part of that experience includes food, of course! So far I’ve made crock-pot beef stew (which I have yet to ever blog about), my Garlicky Parmesan Chicken Tenders, and my hubby made her Huevos Motuleños. She’s also experienced the All-American hot dog and fries (Nathan’s All-Beef Jumbo, of course).

But the grand-daddy of an All-American meal (in my book) is good old-fashioned Texas Chicken-Fried Steak with all the fixin’s. (Meaning, mashed potatoes, peppery cream gravy, and green beans.) I posted my recipe for this over two years ago, then reblogged it later but never took a new photo, so figured it was a good time to dust it off, upgrade the photos and add a little more detail to the ingredients and steps. And the bonus to this is I instructed Caroline on how to make all this and she did it all herself (with some guided supervision). She did great! And we all cleaned up our plates and she absolutely loved this meal. I think you would too! I’ve included quite a few photos with this one, as it was fun being able to photograph someone else doing the work. 🙂

Chicken-Fried Steak with all the Fixin’s

4 to 6 russet potatoes, 3 tablespoons butter, and milk as needed
4 to 6 cubed steaks, or round steaks, tenderized
3/4 cup flour
Generous amounts of ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Salt, to taste
2 eggs with splash of milk
1 1/2 cups milk
Reserved flour (about 2 tablespoons)
Vegetable oil for skillet
Fresh green beans

First peel those potatoes and get them boiling in a pot of water and cook for about 20 minutes. Go off and do something else during this time.

Peeling the Potatoes

When you get back from whatever you just did, keep the potatoes boiling. Mix together the flour and the seasonings to taste on a plate. I had Caroline add a lot of black pepper. Beat the eggs with the milk in a bowl.

Preparing Egg and Milk Wash

Whisking the Eggs and Milk

Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture until coated, then dip in the egg mixture to coat. Dredge the steaks once again in the flour until coated well  (your fingers will get nice and clumpy at this part) and set aside on another plate or rack. Reserve the extra flour mixture for the gravy.

Dredging the Cubed Steaks

Check your potatoes at this point, and if done, go ahead and drain them, return to pot and whip them up with the butter and enough milk to make them creamy. Cover and put over lowest heat setting possible.

Double-Dredged Cubed Steaks

Whipping the Potatoes

Next, heat about an eighth- to quarter-inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, preferably cast iron, until hot, but not smoking. I used two cast iron skillets so we could cook six steaks all at once, but you could also do this in batches in one skillet. Very carefully set each steak in the hot oil with a spatula.

Let the steaks sizzle in the oil for about four or five minutes, until you see red juice bubbling out of the top. Carefully slide the spatula under each steak and gently flip them over. Fry for about another five minutes until crispy brown, turning down heat if needed to prevent burning. Remove the steaks from the skillet and drain on paper towels. Turn heat off of skillet. This is a good time to start cooking your green beans, too, however you prefer to make them.

Frying the Cubed Steaks

For the cream gravy, pour all but about two tablespoons of oil out of the skillet (or one of them if using two) and make sure the crispy bits stay in the pan. Add the reserved seasoned flour into a jar, then add the milk. Cover, and shake, shake, shake that baby until all the flour is completely incorporated.

Adding Milk to Flour for Gravy

Turn the heat back on to medium high under the skillet with the oil, then slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, until the gravy starts to thicken. Add lots and lots of more pepper at this point, and salt to taste. Continue whisking until the gravy is the consistency you want, adding more milk or water if it gets too thick.

Whisking the Cream Gravy

Put the chicken fried steaks on each plate, pour a generous amount of cream gravy over them, and serve with mashed potatoes and more cream gravy, and fresh steamed green beans with butter (or vegetable of choice). Crazy Texas Good!

Chicken Fried Steak with all the Fixin’s

Download and Print this Yummy Recipe!

Texas Chicken Fried Steak

YUM! Here is what we had for dinner tonight. I posted this over a year and a half ago, and I think I’ve only made it once or twice since then. Indulgent, but oh so satisfying! Here is the recipe in case you weren’t a follower that long ago:

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy, Yumm!

Amazingly, my daughter announced last night she would be glad to help make dinner tonight. My plan was to teach her how to make some good old-fashioned chicken fried steak with cream gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I even bought some cubed steaks a couple of days ago because I was craving some good Texas food.  (I haven’t tenderized a round steak in years for this. It doesn’t help that the head of my cheap wooden tenderizer flies off every time I use it. My mom has this fantastic solid metal one, which I’m sure she got from her mother.)

The recipe came from my mind, because any true Texan just “knows” how to make it. Since my daughter was born and raised in Oregon, I guess this osmosis effect never transferred this particular ability to her. Unfortunately, when I told her it was time to make dinner, her idea of “helping” to make dinner was to peel the potatoes and put them in the pot to boil. I practically had to force her to watch me bread the steaks, and off she went on her iPod Touch to chat with her friends. No matter, she’ll come around eventually.  This recipe is for two, but it is easily multiplied. This is an “eyeball” recipe, as amounts really depend on how many steaks you are cooking and how much gravy you want to go with them.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

2 cubed steaks, or round steaks tenderized
Flour
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Paprika
Salt to taste
1 egg
Milk
Oil for skillet

On a plate or in a bowl, mix together about a half cup of flour and the seasonings to taste. I liberally add a lot of black pepper. Since my no-salt hubby is gone, I added a little bit of salt tonight! Beat the egg with some milk in a bowl. Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture until coated, then dip in the egg mixture to coat. Dredge the steaks once again in the flour until coated well  (your fingers will get nice and clumpy at this part) and set aside on another plate. Reserve the extra flour mixture for the gravy. Heat about a quarter- to half-inch of oil in a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, until hot, but not smoking. Very carefully set each steak in the hot oil with a spatula.  It will splatter, so watch out!

Let the steaks sizzle in the oil for about four or five minutes, until you see red juice bubbling out of the top. Carefully slide the spatula under each steak and gently flip them over. Fry for about another five minutes until crispy brown. Remove the steaks from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

Sizzling Steaks

For the cream gravy, pour all but about two tablespoons of oil out of the skillet and make sure the crispy bits stay in the pan. Add about two tablespoons of the reserved flour mixture to the skillet and stir and mash it down to remove lumps until just starting to brown. Slowly add about a cup of milk, stirring constantly, until the gravy starts to thicken. Add lots and lots of more pepper at this point, and salt to taste. Continue stirring until the gravy is the consistency you want, adding more milk or water if it gets too thick.

Put the chicken fried steaks on each plate, pour a generous amount of cream gravy over them, and serve with mashed potatoes and more cream gravy, and a vegetable of choice. I’ve always enjoyed green beans with this meal. Now that’s a taste of Texas, isn’t it?

Texas Chicken Fried Steak, as Promised

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy, Yumm!

Amazingly, my daughter announced last night she would be glad to help make dinner tonight. My plan was to teach her how to make some good old-fashioned chicken fried steak with cream gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans. I even bought some cubed steaks a couple of days ago because I was craving some good Texas food.  (I haven’t tenderized a round steak in years for this. It doesn’t help that the head of my cheap wooden tenderizer flies off every time I use it. My mom has this fantastic solid metal one, which I’m sure she got from her mother.)

The recipe came from my mind, because any true Texan just “knows” how to make it. Since my daughter was born and raised in Oregon, I guess this osmosis effect never transferred this particular ability to her. Unfortunately, when I told her it was time to make dinner, her idea of “helping” to make dinner was to peel the potatoes and put them in the pot to boil. I practically had to force her to watch me bread the steaks, and off she went on her iPod Touch to chat with her friends. No matter, she’ll come around eventually.  This recipe is for two, but it is easily multiplied. This is an “eyeball” recipe, as amounts really depend on how many steaks you are cooking and how much gravy you want to go with them.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

2 cubed steaks, or round steaks tenderized
Flour
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Paprika
Salt to taste
1 egg
Milk
Oil for skillet

On a plate or in a bowl, mix together about a half cup of flour and the seasonings to taste. I liberally add a lot of black pepper. Since my no-salt hubby is gone, I added a little bit of salt tonight! Beat the egg with some milk in a bowl. Dredge the steaks in the flour mixture until coated, then dip in the egg mixture to coat. Dredge the steaks once again in the flour until coated well  (your fingers will get nice and clumpy at this part) and set aside on another plate. Reserve the extra flour mixture for the gravy. Heat about a quarter- to half-inch of oil in a heavy skillet, preferably cast iron, until hot, but not smoking. Very carefully set each steak in the hot oil with a spatula.  It will splatter, so watch out!

Let the steaks sizzle in the oil for about four or five minutes, until you see red juice bubbling out of the top. Carefully slide the spatula under each steak and gently flip them over. Fry for about another five minutes until crispy brown. Remove the steaks from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

Sizzling Steaks

For the cream gravy, pour all but about two tablespoons of oil out of the skillet and make sure the crispy bits stay in the pan. Add about two tablespoons of the reserved flour mixture to the skillet and stir and mash it down to remove lumps until just starting to brown. Slowly add about a cup of milk, stirring constantly, until the gravy starts to thicken. Add lots and lots of more pepper at this point, and salt to taste. Continue stirring until the gravy is the consistency you want, adding more milk or water if it gets too thick.

Put the chicken fried steaks on each plate, pour a generous amount of cream gravy over them, and serve with mashed potatoes and more cream gravy, and a vegetable of choice. I’ve always enjoyed green beans with this meal. Now that’s a taste of Texas, isn’t it?

Missing My Other Cook Tonight

Well no foodie blog tonight, but I do feel the need to check in with my readers each day. With my other cooking half gone and the events that transpired yesterday, I am really missing having another person capable of cooking dinner. I had a fairly busy day at work and now don’t have the energy to whip something up. My daughter is great at baking cookies or cakes, but she’s still not at the age where she’s interested in learning the mechanics of preparing a meal. I think the coordination of it all intimidates her.

I do believe a pizza delivery is in order tonight. See y’all tomorrow! Chicken Fried Steak will be on the menu. 🙂