Best Crispy Country Fried Steak
Country fried steak is a Southern staple that you can fry up to perfection at home. In “meat and three” restaurants in the South, you’ll often find it served over mashed potatoes. That’s how I like to serve it, too.
What is country fried steak? It’s very similar to German schnitzel–a thin slice of meat that is usually breaded and fried to golden brown. With country fried or chicken-fried steak, the meat is usually a cut of beef like cube steak, round steak, or chuck. However, I often use venison since we always have it on hand in the freezer.
Making country fried steak is simple! First, you tenderize the meat by pounding it out with a meat mallet. Then you dredge it in seasoned flour, dip it egg and milk or buttermilk, and then dredge once more in flour mixture. Finally, you fry it to tender, crispy perfection.
This is an easy dish to get onto the table and is one of my family’s all-time favorites. The flavors blend perfectly with mashed potatoes and a dark brown or mushroom gravy.
What’s the difference between Country Fried Steak and Chicken Fried Steak?
These two kinds of fried steak are so similar that the terms often get used interchangeably. They really are two different dishes, though. The difference is in the batter and a little bit in the gravy. Chicken fried steak has a thicker crispy coating and usually gets served with white gravy. Country fried steak has a much lighter (but still very crispy) coating, and folks here in the South serve it with a brown gravy.
How do you get the coating of country fried steak to stay crispy?
My secret ingredient in this recipe is a tablespoon of baking powder added to the 2 cups of flour. The baking powder makes the coating stick better as well as helping the steak keeping a crunchy exterior.
Of course, make sure your oil is shimmering hot before adding the steak to the pan. Allow the steak to sit without moving for a few minutes before flipping so that the coating does not fall off in the pan.
Before adding the next batch, make sure the oil has time enough to heat back up to around 375°F.
Once you learn to fry up a country or “chicken-fried” steak, you can make deer meat parmesan, parmesan chicken, chicken and gravy, piccata – the sky is the limit.
Southern Country Fried Steak with Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
- 3 pounds cubed steak or venison — round or shoulder steak that has been tenderized or pounded almost flat
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup lard or vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Chopped parsley for garnish
For the Gravy
- 2 pounds mushrooms thickly sliced
- 1 stick butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- For the Steak
- Add flour, cayenne, baking powder, salt, and pepper to a shallow bowl. I find bread pans are the perfect size for this. Stir the ingredients together.
- To another bowl, whisk the eggs and then whisk in the buttermilk.
- With each piece of meat, dredge into the seasoned flour mixture, dip in the buttermilk mixture, and then dredge back through the flour. Place the breaded meat onto a wire rack set over a cookie sheet until you are ready to fry.
- In a cast iron skillet, heat the lard or oil until it reaches about 375° F, or until it is shimmering. In batches, fry the meat over medium-high heat, until the edges are crispy, about 3 minutes. Flip the meat and fry another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to another cooling rack set over a baking sheet to drain excess oil. Cover with foil or place into a 200°F oven while you make the gravy.
For the Gravy
- Melt the butter and oil in the cast iron skillet with the steak drippings. Add the mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms have lost their moisture and the pan begins to get a little dry. Add the flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the broth and continue to cook until the gravy is the consistency you like. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the chicken fried steak over mashed potatoes and top with mushroom gravy. Garnish with the parsley. Add a sprinkle of paprika or a dash of hot sauce if desired.
