The Ultimate Chicken Fried Steak is fried to golden perfection and topped with the creamiest gravy you can imagine, sure to quickly become a family favorite. It’s hard to imagine a more quintessential Southern meal than Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy. The hard part is deciding whether you want to make it for breakfast or dinner. My family can’t get enough of these tender steaks with that delightful crispy, crunchy coating. And the gravy? Heaven!
Enjoy this amazing dinner with some of my Nana’s green beans and the BEST dinner rolls.
Sponsored by TABASCO® Brand.
Chicken Fried Steak
I figured it was high time I share one of my all-time favorite recipes with you guys. I have been eating this Southern food classic for as long as I can remember. My Nana is the first one that introduced me to this delightful recipe. (Big shocker there – she basically introduced me to all of my favorites…) This recipe is an adaptation of hers – or, at least, as I remember it and I’m pretty sure she’d agree, that this really is the best chicken fried steak recipe out there.
Chicken Fried Steak: Breakfast or Dinner?
There is nothing quite like chicken fried steak when it comes to versatility. We love serving it for dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy and my Nana’s Green Beans to even it all out… 😉 Orrr, if it’s brunch we’re craving, serving this yumminess with a couple sunny side up eggs and hash browns always does the trick.
My boys almost always order chicken fried steak when we’re out for breakfast but the thing is, it’s incredibly easy to make at home! Now, I’ve tried lots of subpar recipes in my lifetime but trust me, this is not one of them.
I’ve developed the ULTIMATE recipe that goes just perfectly with a rich, creamy gravy that that little ole steak is just begging to be smothered in.
How to Properly Season and Flavor
Every layer of this Chicken Fried Steak recipe is seasoned to perfection. The steaks are seasoned with salt and pepper, the flour mixture is seasoned with herbs and spices, and even the buttermilk and egg batter is seasoned with TABASCO® Sauce.
TABASCO® Sauce is a staple in our house (the original is our favorite) and my oldest wants it with and in every.single.recipe. I love the extra flavor it adds to this recipe and if you’re worried about it being spicy, don’t. It really doesn’t add any heat to the dish as much as it brings out the other flavors in the dish.
If you want to, you can always bump up the heat by adding in another teaspoon or so of TABASCO® Sauce, or, you can always just add a dash or two to the top of your steak. That’s how my Grandpa ate his and Reece and Chris do the same.
So, if you’re not familiar with chicken fried steak or country fried steak, let me clear up any confusion…
Why is it called Chicken Fried Steak?
Chicken Fried Steak is not made with chicken. Period. No chicken to be found. It’s called this because the steak is breaded and fried much like you would a piece of chicken. Chicken Fried Steak is made with cube steak that you find already tenderized at your grocery store.
The steak is dredged in a seasoned flour mixture, dipped in a buttermilk and egg mixture and then back into the flour one last time. Finally, it’s fried to golden perfection and topped with the creamiest, tastiest gravy you’ve ever tried. Some might even say that the gravy is the best part 🙂
Don’t Forget the Gravy!
There are a few secrets to the best Chicken Fried Steak Gravy.
- Do NOT scrape the skillet. Leave all of that goodness in there. Simply remove the grease and add back in just enough to make the creamy gravy.
- Let the flour cook and brown before adding liquids. This builds up flavor and removes that raw flour taste.
- Slowly whisk in the milk AND cream (yes, I use a little cream in this gravy… 😉 ) This keeps lumps from forming and you end up with a smooth, creamy Chicken Fried Steak Gravy.
- Season at the end. My gravy usually doesn’t need any additional salt but I add LOTS of freshly ground black pepper.
Now, I go into detail in my instructions below but I want to highlight a few steps here that I want you to pay close attention to before making this recipe.
Tips for the Best Chicken Fried Steak Recipe
- There is no need to deep fry. I shallow fry to golden perfection with a cup of oil – or less. I prefer to use vegetable oil.
- A heavy skillet works best. I use my favorite cast iron skillet but any large, heavy bottomed skillet will work.
- Do not overcrowd the pan. EVER. Two at a time is the way to go. Preheat your oven to 225-250F to keep it warm and crispy while you’re making the gravy.
- Buttermilk keeps the steaks nice and tender and the TABASCO® Sauce adds loads of flavor without being overly spicy. I make mine with about 2 teaspoons but you can go up to 4 teaspoons if you want to up the ante. I like to keep it relatively calm and my family can add a couple of dashes on top if they like.
- You’ll notice the baking soda and baking powder in the breading. This gives it a perfectly crispy coating that you won’t find in other recipes.
- After breading the cube steaks, really press the flour in. You want the steaks to be completely coated with the breading.
- Do not flip the steaks more than once. Wait until they are nice and golden brown before flipping. You don’t want to disturb that crunchy coating.
Refer to the video if you have any more questions or leave me a comment below. I’d love to know what you think when you give it a try!
Favorite Family Dinners
- Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese
- The BEST Turkey Meatballs
- Easy Stuffed Shells
- Crockpot Chili
- Tater Tot Casserole
How To Make Chicken Fried Steak
The Ultimate Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients
- 4 cube steaks (about 1/3 lb each)
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper, divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons TABASCO® Sauce (original)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
Chicken Fried Steak Gravy
- 4 tablespoons grease
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 to 3 cups whole milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together flour, one teaspoon black pepper, one teaspoon salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together buttermilk , TABASCO® Sauce, and eggs. Set aside.
- Pat cube steaks dry with a paper towel, removing as much moisture as possible. Season with one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes and pat dry again with paper towel.
- Dredge the cube steaks in the flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dredge in the buttermilk-egg mixture, letting excess drip off, and then once again in the flour mixture, shaking off excess.
- Place breaded cube steaks on a sheet pan or metal rack and press any of the remaining flour mixture into the cube steaks making sure that the entire steak is completely coated. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 225 to 250 F.
- Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a heavy skillet or large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. How much oil you need depends on the size of your skillet. You want it to be about 1/4-inch deep. We aren’t deep frying the steaks, just shallow frying.
- Test the oil by dropping a bit of the breading into in. The oil should sizzle and bubble around the breading. Look for the oil to be glistening but not smoking – about 320-340 degrees F. Now we’re ready to fry.
- Place two steaks into the pan at a time and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Do not flip more than once or the breading will fall off. Do not fry more than two steaks or the pan will be too crowded and the breading will fall off.
- Remove steaks from pan and drain on paper towels. Place in preheated oven. Turn skillet heat to medium.
Chicken Fried Steak Gravy
- Pour the remaining grease into a heat safe bowl or glass measuring cup (I used my Pyrex). Do NOT scrape the skillet clean. We want all of those bits of yumminess to remain in the skillet so they can flavor the gravy.
- Add back in 4 tablespoons of the grease to the hot skillet.
- Whisk in flour and continue whisking for two to three minutes or until nice and golden brown.
- Combine the cream and milk and slowly drizzle in about 2 1/2 cups into the skillet, whisking constantly. It might look a little crazy right at the beginning, but it will all come together.
- Continue whisking and bring the gravy to a simmer. Cook until the gravy is smooth and creamy, about 5 to 7 minutes. If the gravy gets too thick, add in a little more milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Mine didn’t need any salt but LOTS of pepper!)
- Serve chicken fried steak with gravy and mashed potatoes and your favorite green veggies. ENJOY!
Momo says
This recipe is fantastic! I did it the way it says on here the first time around. But this time I want to half the recipe because it’s just me and my husband. Can I just half everything? Including the baking soda and baking powder?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yes, absolutely! Just halve all the ingredients.
Lory says
This is the best chicken afford steak I have had since the last time my father made it over 30 years ago! I think the angels sent me to your recipe! Thank you for sharing this with all of us! This recipe is heavenly!
Pauli e Garrison says
This recipe is almost perfect. We felt that the meat itself needed a little more salt before dredging, and the gravy need a tablespoon of chicken bullion. Our preference of course. I will definitely make this over and over again. Thank you so much. I might even add a little more tobasco. Delicious. My question is how to heat the leftover meat and keep it crispy? My email is Pauli.c.garrison @gmail.com
Pauline Garrison
Lory says
I just made this tonight and it was absolutely fabulous! We just bought half a cow and have quite a lot of cube steak. This was the first recipe I looked at and I see no reason to keep looking! My husband and I both loved it and thought it was as wonderful as the chicken fried steak that our parents and grandparents made when we were young. Thank you so much for sharing this with us! God bless you!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Lory, thank you!
Lisa says
Very tasty even with gluten free flour! My mom used to make this, but I had no idea what it was called.
I’ve used the gravy portion of the recipe to make gravy for pork chops which are currently my teen daughter’s favorite.
James robinson says
The way I get tender chicken fried steak is ask the butcher to run the cube steak thru the tenderizer one more time for me and then when I bread it up I press it out … makes a chicken fry that covers the plate and so tender and tasty 😋. Moose 😎👍
Shaheen says
My recent experience was nothing short of excellent, and it left me looking forward to the next opportunity to savor this classic dish.
Kevin Sterken says
Loved this tender gravy was great I’ll make it again
Jolene says
My first time making and eating Chicken Fried Steak. It was really good! My gravy didn’t have ANY flavor though, and I used the 4 Tbsp of used oil, and the bits… had to add a lot of seasoning to give it any flavor. :o/
Liz says
You can always add in about a teaspoon of chicken base (better than bullion, chicken flavored) to the gravy as it cooks to kick up the taste! It’s a wonderful secret ingredient for cream gravy!
Linda says
Just perfect recipe.
The only minor thing I may do next time is pound down the thicker prices of meat but honestly we enjoyed the flavor so much!!!!! Yummy
Pat says
I have never had Chicken Fried Steak before but I saw some pictures online and it seemed like delicious comfort-food. I made this recipe exactly as written except I added extra salt, pepper and smoked paprika to the gravy. It was delicious. My sons and husband enjoyed it. It is not exactly health food but is a wonderful treat and I will make it again.
Terri says
This recipe right here is THE BOMB. I followed it to a T. The only tricky part is ensuring the breading doesn’t fall off…and i think the key is to ensure you salt the steak and let it sit … get rid of excess moisture on the meat. Sometimes I’m not patient and I rush it, and yeah, it falls off a little bit. last time i made it, it was spot on (i waited the time noted above).
The only additional thing I do is add creole seasoning to the gravy to give it more flavor. Either creole seasoning or blackened seasoning do the trick. Gives it a little punch and a lot more flavor.
Thanks for this recipe! The fam loves it!
Carol says
Absolutely delicious. Not greasy and the taste is the best!! Thanks ❤️
Debbie says
We made this chicken fried steak for dinner last night, and it was extraordinary (if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would)! We served ours with mashed potatoes (if you haven’t tried Pioneer Woman’s mashed potatoes, they are so good), jalapeño cream gravy (just add a heaping tablespoon of chopped, pickled jalapeños and 2 tablespoons of jalapeño juice to your gravy), homemade creamed corn, and biscuits with honey. Note 1: Don’t be afraid to add the hot sauce. It won’t make your CFS hot at all. It just adds great flavor. Note 2: We used seven small/medium sized cubed steaks, and we needed all of the flour and milk mixtures. Note 3: If you don’t regularly use buttermilk, no need to buy any. Simply add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar to the 1 1/2 cups milk. Let sit for 5 minutes, stir and use just like you would buttermilk. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us Trish! I’m off to check out the rest of your recipes.
Karyn says
I’ve made this twice and my hubby and son love it ( me too)! I will use this every time, perfect seasoning 🙂 thanks for sharing!