Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

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Chicken fried steak is diner food you can absolutely make at home, and cube steak makes it one of the cheapest dinners in this whole category. The steaks get dredged in seasoned flour, dipped in buttermilk and egg, and dredged again, then shallow fried until the crust is deep golden and cracks when you cut it. Cream gravy goes over the top, made in the same skillet.

Two dredges instead of one is what builds that thick shattering crust. The first pass gives the buttermilk something to grab, and the second pass sticks to that wet layer and turns into the craggy coating people are actually after. Skip a dredge and you get a thin fried shell that slides off the meat in one piece.

Then let the breaded steaks sit for ten minutes before they hit the oil. The flour absorbs moisture from the buttermilk underneath and glues itself down. That short wait is the difference between a crust that stays put and a skillet full of loose brown crumbs.

Why You’ll Love This Chicken Fried Steak Recipe

• One of the cheapest cuts in the case. Cube steak usually runs half the price of sirloin and feeds four people for the cost of a couple of fast food combos.
• A crust that actually cracks. The double dredge plus a ten-minute rest gives you a thick coating that shatters instead of sliding off.
• The gravy uses the same skillet. Those browned bits left in the pan are what make cream gravy taste like something instead of white paste.
• Forty-five minutes, start to gravy. The steaks fry in about 8 minutes a batch, so most of the time is dredging and stirring.

Chicken Fried Steak Ingredients

Cube steak is top round or sirloin that’s already been run through a tenderizer, which is why it’s covered in those little dimples and why it costs so much less than steak. It’s the traditional cut here, and it’s the reason chicken fried steak turns out tender after only a few minutes in the pan.

• 4 cube steaks (about 1/3 lb each, 1 1/2 lbs total)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/4 cup pan drippings or butter, for the gravy
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for the gravy
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp salt, for the gravy
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, for the gravy

Recipe Variations

• Use thin-cut round steak or pork cutlets if your store is out of cube steak. Pound them to about 1/4 inch first so they cook in the same time. Beef and pork both go to 145°F with a 3-minute rest.
• Make chicken fried chicken with 4 thin chicken breast cutlets. Same dredge, same 350°F oil, but fry until the chicken reads 165°F, because poultry needs a higher safe temperature than beef does.
• Swap the buttermilk for 1 1/4 cups whole milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar stirred in. Let it sit 5 minutes to thicken and curdle slightly before you use it.

How to Make Chicken Fried Steak

1. Set up the dredge: Whisk the 1 1/2 cups flour, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, smoked paprika, and cayenne together in a wide shallow dish. In a second dish, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and hot sauce until smooth.
2. Dredge twice: Pat the cube steaks dry. Press each one into the flour on both sides, dip it in the buttermilk mixture and let the extra run off, then press it firmly back into the flour, packing the coating on. Set the breaded steaks on a wire rack.
3. Let the coating set: Leave the breaded steaks alone for 10 minutes. The flour pulls moisture from the buttermilk underneath and glues itself down, so the crust stays on the meat instead of in the oil.
4. Heat the oil: Pour the oil into a large heavy skillet, cast iron if you have it, to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Heat over medium until it reads 350°F on a thermometer. A pinch of flour dropped in should sizzle steadily, not violently.
5. Fry in two batches: Fry 2 steaks at a time for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the crust is deep golden brown and a thermometer in the center reads at least 145°F. Move them to a clean wire rack and let them rest 3 minutes, which is the rest USDA guidance calls for on whole cuts of beef. Repeat with the other 2.
6. Build the cream gravy: Pour off all but 1/4 cup of the fat, leaving the browned bits in the skillet, or wipe the pan and start with 1/4 cup butter. Over medium heat, whisk in the 1/4 cup flour and cook 2 minutes, until it smells toasty and turns light tan.
7. Finish the gravy and serve: Pour in the whole milk and heavy cream in a steady stream, whisking hard the whole time. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, whisking, until it coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, add more pepper if you like it sharp, and ladle it over the steaks right before serving.

Recipe FAQs

What Cut of Meat Is Chicken Fried Steak Made From?

Cube steak, which is top round or sirloin that’s been mechanically tenderized at the butcher counter. Those dimples are what let a cheap, tough cut fry up tender in under 8 minutes. Thin-pounded round steak is the closest substitute.

Why Did the Breading Fall off My Chicken Fried Steak?

Usually one of three things: the meat was wet when it went into the flour, the coating didn’t get its 10-minute rest, or the steaks got flipped and poked while they fried. Dry the meat, let it sit, and turn each steak exactly once.

What’s the Difference Between Chicken Fried Steak and Country Fried Steak?

The gravy. Chicken fried steak gets white milk gravy made from pan drippings and milk, the same way you’d make gravy for fried chicken. Country fried steak is usually served with brown onion gravy and is often smothered rather than crisp.

Can I Make Chicken Fried Steak in an Air Fryer?

You can, but be honest with yourself about what you’re getting. Spray the breaded steaks well with oil and cook at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway, to at least 145°F. The crust comes out drier and paler than fried.

How Do I Keep the Cream Gravy from Getting Lumpy?

Cook the flour into the fat for a full 2 minutes first, then add the milk in a steady stream while whisking without stopping. Dumping the milk in all at once is what makes lumps, not the flour.

Cooking Tips

• Hold the oil between 325°F and 350°F. Below that the crust drinks oil and turns greasy, and above it the outside darkens before the middle is done. A clip-on thermometer takes the guesswork out.
• Rest the fried steaks on a wire rack, never on paper towels. Paper traps steam against the bottom crust and the underside goes soft in about two minutes.
• Whisk the flour into the fat for the full 2 minutes before any milk goes in. A roux that’s still bright white tastes like raw flour, and no amount of salt or pepper covers that up.

Storage and Freezing

To store: Refrigerate the steaks and the gravy in separate airtight containers for up to 3 days. Gravy poured over the steaks turns the crust to mush overnight.

To freeze: Freeze the fried steaks, unsauced, for up to 2 months. Cool them completely, freeze flat on a sheet pan, then bag them. The cream gravy doesn’t freeze, the milk separates and turns grainy when it thaws.

To reheat: Reheat the steaks on a wire rack set in a sheet pan at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until the crust crisps back up and the meat reaches 165°F. Warm the gravy separately on the stove with a splash of milk whisked in.

How to Serve Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken fried steak is a plate that wants mashed potatoes underneath it and more gravy on top, which is how every diner in Texas serves it. Buttermilk biscuits, buttered corn, or green beans cooked with bacon round it out. It also works as a breakfast plate with fried eggs, which is exactly what to do with the leftover steak the next morning.

Loved This Recipe?

Chicken fried steak takes 45 minutes and turns the cheapest cut in the meat case into the plate everybody fights over.

Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.

Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Chicken fried steak with double-dredged cube steak, a crackly seasoned crust, and peppery cream gravy made in the same skillet.

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Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:25 minutes mins

Total Time:45 minutes mins

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• Large Skillet
• Instant-Read Thermometer 145°F is a narrow window, and a minute past it changes the texture. Worth checking early rather than late.

Ingredients

• 4 cube steaks about 1/3 lb each, 1 1/2 lbs total
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil for frying
• 1/4 cup pan drippings or butter for the gravy
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for the gravy
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp salt for the gravy
• 1/2 tsp black pepper for the gravy

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Instructions

• Set up the dredge: Whisk the 1 1/2 cups flour, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, smoked paprika, and cayenne together in a wide shallow dish. In a second dish, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and hot sauce until smooth.
• Dredge twice: Pat the cube steaks dry. Press each one into the flour on both sides, dip it in the buttermilk mixture and let the extra run off, then press it firmly back into the flour, packing the coating on. Set the breaded steaks on a wire rack.
• Let the coating set: Leave the breaded steaks alone for 10 minutes. The flour pulls moisture from the buttermilk underneath and glues itself down, so the crust stays on the meat instead of in the oil.
• Heat the oil: Pour the oil into a large heavy skillet, cast iron if you have it, to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Heat over medium until it reads 350°F on a thermometer. A pinch of flour dropped in should sizzle steadily, not violently.
• Fry in two batches: Fry 2 steaks at a time for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the crust is deep golden brown and a thermometer in the center reads at least 145°F. Move them to a clean wire rack and let them rest 3 minutes, which is the rest USDA guidance calls for on whole cuts of beef. Repeat with the other 2.
• Build the cream gravy: Pour off all but 1/4 cup of the fat, leaving the browned bits in the skillet, or wipe the pan and start with 1/4 cup butter. Over medium heat, whisk in the 1/4 cup flour and cook 2 minutes, until it smells toasty and turns light tan.
• Finish the gravy and serve: Pour in the whole milk and heavy cream in a steady stream, whisking hard the whole time. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, whisking, until it coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, add more pepper if you like it sharp, and ladle it over the steaks right before serving.

Notes

Dredge flour, then buttermilk and egg, then flour again, and let the breaded steaks rest 10 minutes before frying so the coating sets and stays on the meat. Fry at 350°F for 3-4 minutes per side until the crust is deep golden and the steak reads an internal temperature of at least 145°F, then rest 3 minutes. Cube steak is mechanically tenderized, so cook it all the way through to 145°F rather than leaving a rare center. The gravy is whole milk plus a splash of heavy cream, whisked into a roux cooked a full 2 minutes.

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