@thecookierookie’s recipe for Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy is the fourth recipe I tested from Instagram.  Here’s why:

1.  I LOOOOVVVEEE Chicken Fried Steak!!! Like… I love it.
2. It received votes from people on Instagram.
3. It’s Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy.  There really doesn’t need to be a reason.

Now, I could tell you quite a few stories about my love affair with Chicken Fried Steak but here is an abbreviated synopsis.  I first ate it when we lived in Houston (mid-late 80’s) at a restaurant called Fat Frank’s.  I ordered it the first time we went and never ordered anything else.  Fyi- it goes great with root beer.  My first St. Patrick’s Day while dating my husband (Chicago 2001) I ordered it at Stanley’s around midnight, ate it at the bar and gave a stranger a bite.  Then boyfriend, now husband, was not psyched about that. I have chosen Cracker Barrel for my birthday dinner a few times just so I can have Chicken Fried Steak as my birthday dinner.

All this being said, I have never attempted to make it at home until now.

The Grade: B-

This recipe was touted as an easy Chicken Fried Steak recipe and it absolutely was easy!  Messy but easy.  I am messy in the kitchen though so it might not be as messy for you.

I have never worked with cube steak before but it worked!  Do I want to try it with the thin cut ribeye’s I recently spotted at Aldi? Of course I do.  But the traditional cut of meat for Chicken Fried Steak is cube steak, so I’m glad that is what I started with.  It was very tender and delicious without additional pounding to tenderize the meat.

I think the double batter is key (dredge in flour, milk/egg mixture, then flour again) to getting that crispy crust.  Although the flour mixture was seasoned, I wish I would have seasoned the steaks themselves.  They needed a little more flavor in my opinion.

I think my oil was just a little too hot.  Oil temperature is key!  Too low and your food will taste greasy because the oil will be absorbed.  Too high and the outside will burn before the inside gets cooked.  Our steaks tasted fine but were a little bit dark on the outside.  I think a couple of degrees cooler would have made a big difference.  I did not test the temp of my oil so shame on me! 350 degrees should do it.

My gravy was divine!  I’m really quite excellent at making gravy.  I didn’t follow the directions exactly but I was thrilled with the result.  I used more liquid than the recipe called for, about 1 3/4 cups of (whole) milk and 3/4 cup of chicken stock.

My family really liked this meal over all.  Not shockingly, I had one kid who didn’t like the steak.  I think the only reason she even tried it was because I showed her that the cube steak looks like ground beef before I cooked it.  She won’t eat steak but she will eat ground beef.  Even though she didn’t eat the meat, I served it with mashed potatoes, canned biscuits and canned green beans (same child only ever wants canned green beans, not the “real ones”).  With all those delicious sides I know she got enough to eat.  And the rest of us ate EVERYTHING!

In conclusion, I will make this again.  I will make it with some tweaks and get my oil temperature correct.  I think those couple of changes will make a big difference.  But really, I might just go to Cracker Barrel because then my house doesn’t smell like fried food.  What about you? Are you going to give this a try?