Chicken Fried Steak

Ingredients

• 4 tenderized minute steaks (2 packs)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. Celtic sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup (approx.) lard or olive oil

Chicken Fried Steak Gravy

• 4 tablespoons grease
  
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2-3 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. 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. 
2. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk together milk and eggs. Set aside. 
3. Pat cube steaks dry with a paper towel, removing as much moisture as possible. Season all steaks with remaining teaspoon of salt and pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes, and pat dry with paper towel again. 
4. Dip the cube steaks in the flour mixture and shake off the excess, then dip in the milk-egg mixture and allow to drip off. Dip in flour and shake off excess again. 
5. Place breaded cube steaks on a sheet pan or metal rack and press any of the remaining flour mixture into the cube steaks to make sure the steak is completely coated. Let sit for 10 minutes. 
6. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  
7. Heat lard or olive oil in a cast iron pan on medium heat. You want it to be 1/4 inch deep. We aren't deep frying, just shallow frying the steaks. 
8. Test oil by dropping a bit of breading into the pan. The oil should sizzle and bubble. The oil should not be so hot that it is smoking... about 325°F is good. 
9. Place two steaks on the pan at a time and fry for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Do not flip more than once or the breading may fall off. And be careful not to cook too long or the steaks will be dried out and tough.
10. Remove steaks from pan and drain on paper towel. Then place in preheated oven. Turn skillet heat to medium. 

Chicken Fried Steak Gravy

1. Pour the remaining grease into a heat safe bowl. Don't scrape the skillet clean. You want all those yummy bits to flavor the gravy. 
2. Add back in 4 tablespoons of the grease into the hot skillet. 
3. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. 
4. Slowly drizzle about 2 1/2 cups of the milk into the skillet stirring constantly. It won't look very smooth at first but don't give up... Just keep whisking. 
5. Cook until the gravy is smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. If it gets too thick, add in a little more milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 
6. Serve "chicken fried steak" with gravy and your favorites sides... Enjoy!
   

Your farmer's wife,

Kaylita