Chicken Fried Steak

Ingredients

• 4 × 150 g beef round steak (or cube steak), pounded to 5–7 mm if not pre-tenderised
• For the double-dredge
• 250 g plain flour, seasoned with salt and black pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten with a splash of milk to make an egg wash
• 250 ml neutral oil or vegetable shortening, enough to come halfway up the steak in the pan
• For the cream gravy
• 2–3 tbsp reserved pan drippings, poured off from the frying fat after cooking
• 30 g plain flour
• 500 ml whole milk, whisked in gradually
• 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground; the gravy must be heavily seasoned

Method

1. 1
   If using unprocessed round steak, place each piece between sheets of cling film and pound with a meat mallet to 5–7 mm thickness, working from the centre outward. The tenderising is mechanical: the pounding breaks the tough muscle fibres of the round. The meat is ready when it lies flat, uniform in thickness, and yields visibly to the touch.
2. 2
   Set up a dredging station in two shallow dishes: seasoned flour in the first and third positions, egg wash in the middle. Dredge each steak in flour, pressing firmly so every surface is coated. Pass through the egg wash, letting the excess drip off. Dredge again in flour, pressing to adhere. Set aside on a rack. The coating is ready when it looks shaggy and fully opaque with no visible wet patches.
3. 3
   Pour oil or shortening into a wide, heavy skillet to a depth that will come halfway up the steaks. Heat over medium-high. The oil is ready when a pinch of flour dropped in sizzles immediately and steadily — not violently, not silently.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Lower the steaks into the hot oil one or two at a time, without crowding. Fry undisturbed until the underside is deeply golden and the crust has set firm enough to release cleanly from the pan — it will not stick when it is ready. Turn once and fry the second side to the same deep gold. The crust must crackle audibly when pressed; the centre must be cooked through, which the thin pounding guarantees. Drain on a rack, never on paper, so the crust stays crisp.
5. 5
   Pour off all but 2–3 tablespoons of the frying fat, leaving the fond in the pan. Set the pan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir it into the fat, cooking briefly until the raw flour smell subsides and the roux turns faintly biscuit-coloured. The fond from the fried steak colours and flavours the gravy at this stage.
6. 6
   Whisk in the milk in a steady stream, scraping up all the fond. Continue whisking over medium heat until the gravy thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon heavily and hold a line drawn through it. Season aggressively with black pepper and salt. The gravy is not a condiment; it is a structural element — it should be thick, peppery, and abundant.
7. 7
   Plate each steak and pour the cream gravy over it generously, partially submerging the steak. The finished plate should show crust breaking through gravy at the edges. Serve immediately.