Chicken Fried Steak Recipe
This Chicken Fried Steak Recipe has a crispy golden breading and the most flavorful white gravy. Learn the simple secrets on how to make this restaurant-quality comfort food recipe just like the chefs do!
Be sure to serve this with my smooth & creamy Homemade Mashed Potatoes and Easy Buttermilk Biscuits or cornbread.
Chicken Fried Steak
Chicken Fried Steak is such a classic comfort food. This is always something I love to order at restaurants, but decided that I was long overdue to learn how to make the best chicken fried steak at home. Nothing beats a home cooked cube steak!
There are a few easy tricks to getting the perfect crispy, golden brown breading (that won’t fall off when you fry it). The white gravy on top is the classic touch.
This recipe makes a lot of gravy, so feel free to drizzle it all over some creamy mashed potatoes!
How to Make it
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
PRO TIP: Even though cube steak has already been tenderized, I like to tenderize it again by pounding it with a meat tenderizer until it’s thinned out even more. This makes it really soft and easy to chew.
- Pat the Steaks Completely Dry. Combine buttermilk marinade ingredients in a casserole dish.
- Add the steaks, cover, and marinate for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours. The longer you marinade, the more tender the meat will be.
- Generously coat each steak in the flour mixture one at a time, just before frying.
- I recommend frying one at a time for the crispiest results. About 4 minutes per side.
How to Make the Gravy
- Melt butter over medium heat, whisk in flour. Add oil from the pan drippings along with minced garlic, cook for 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth and seasonings. Stir to combine.
- Add milk and half and half. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil, whisking continuously.
- Let it simmer and thicken until desired consistency is obtained.
Why Does the Breading Fall off My Chicken Fried Steak?
1. The oil isn’t at the right temperature
- Adding the steak to the oil before it’s reached 350° will make the breading wet and soggy, it needs to instantly start cooking as soon as it hits the oil so that the breading can crisp right up.
- Conversely, you don’t want oil that is too hot or it will burn the outside before the inside has a chance to cook. An Instant Read Thermometer is key.
2. It sits in the breading too long before frying
- Coat each generously in flour right before you fry. If you let them sit too long, the marinade can seep through the flour and cause it to get moist, which creates a soggy breading that can fall off.
3. The pan is overcrowded
- Fry one steak at a time unless you have a very large pan. If the steaks are too close together it steams the edges, causing the breading to get soggy and easily fall apart.
Why is it Called “Chicken Fried Steak”
This recipe is referred to as chicken fried steak is because the meat is prepared similarly to how fried chicken is made. Unlike the name implies, it is made with cube steak, not chicken.
“Chicken” Fried Steak:
- This is traditionally served with a white pepper gravy, such as in this recipe.
- The gravy is sometimes served on the side to allow for the breading to remain extra crispy.
“Country” Fried Steak:
- This is normally smothered in a brown gravy at the end of cooking to allow for the breading to absorb it.
Although these are the traditional differences, you will see restaurants, (such as Cracker Barrel), serve “Country” fried steak with white gravy.
Buttermilk Substitutes
- ½ cup milk + 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 4 tablespoons milk + enough plain yogurt to make 2 cups.
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 10 minutes. It’ll look curdled. Stir to combine.
Tools For This Recipe
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- Instant Read Thermometer– It’s crucial that the oil is at the right temperature when you begin to fry.
- Kitchen tongs– the best way to gently flip and remove the fried steak from the pan.
- A cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed dutch oven is ideal for deep frying due to the even heat distribution.
- Gravy Boat- I have this handy one which keeps the gravy warm with a candle on the bottom!
- Pinch bowls. I always like to measure out my seasonings and other ingredients ahead of time.
- Measuring spoons.I love that these are magnetic. They keep my drawer neat.
What to Serve with Chicken Fried Steak
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Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients
- 4 cube steaks, each about 1/3 pound
- 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
Buttermilk Marinade
- 2 cups buttermilk, see notes for substitutions
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons salt
Breading
- 1 cups flour
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1 ½ teaspoons seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Gravy
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 3 Tablespoons pan drippings
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ cup milk
- ¾ cup half and half
Instructions
Chicken Fried Steak
- Place saran wrap over each cube steak and use the rough end of a meat tenderizer to pound it thin, about ½ inch thick or so. This really makes a nice difference in the consistency of the meat even though cube steak has already been tenderized.
- Pat the steaks completely dry. Combine the marinade ingredients in a large casserole dish.
- Cover and marinate the steaks in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or up to 12. (The longer the better.)
- Combine breading ingredients. Generously coat each steak just before you fry it.
- Add enough oil to cover the steak by 1/3 and heat it to 350° F. (Make sure it’s properly preheated or the breading will fall off.)
- Cook the steaks in batches of 2, leaving room around each. Fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Use kitchen tongs to carefully check the bottom and flip.
- Remove and transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow excess oil to drip out from the bottom. This keeps the bottom nice and crispy.
- Once all the steaks are fried, keep them warm in a 200° F oven while you prepare the gravy.
Gravy
- Transfer the pan drippings into a small heat-proof bowl. Don’t clean the pan.
- Allow the black flecks to fall to the bottom and skim 3 tablespoons of clean oil off the top. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat.
- Whisk in the flour for 1 minute to cook off the raw flour taste.
- Add the oil drippings and minced garlic. cook for 1 minute.
- Add the seasonings, and then the chicken broth in splashes, stirring continuously.
- Add milk and half and half in splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Let it simmer and thicken until desired consistency is obtained.
Notes
Buttermilk Substitutes
- ½ cup milk + 1 ½ cups sour cream
- 4 tablespoons milk + enough plain yogurt to make 2 cups.
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 10 minutes. It'll look curdled. Stir to combine.
Pro Tips:
- Use kitchen tongs to gently flip and remove the fried steak from the pan.
- A cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed dutch oven is ideal for deep frying due to the even heat distribution.
This is my husband’s absolute favorite thing that I make and he brags about it to all his friends. The little bit of spice from the cayenne is just perfect.
I’m so happy that you loved it Dani!! 🙂 You made my day, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! -Stephanie
Best Chicken Fried Steak I ever had or made! I make this regularly and follow the recipe exactly. Amazing every time! My whole family loves it.
I am sooo happy to hear that Amber, wonderful news! Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
This isn’t a comment about the recipe but a question. I can not find cube steaks at any of my markets. I’m assuming they are found in the frozen food section. Or am I wrong? I don’t see them in the fresh meat section either. HELP!!!!! I LOVE Country Fried Steak and so want to try this recipe. Love all your recipe posts. They are always good when I try them.
Hi Ginny!! It’s where the other meat is, my husband actually meant to buy ground beef once and he accidentally grabbed cube steak instead and brought that home- that’s where this recipe was born! If you can’t find it, you could ask someone in the meat section! I’m so happy that you’re loving my recipes!! Thank you so much!!
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Why have a recipe you can’t print out!!!!!
You can! Hit the print recipe button at the bottom of the post in the recipe card section.
I prepared the meat and began marinating it in the evening using the vinegar/milk substitute. I attempted to cook the next evening. Unfortunately, all the meat had practically denatured and reduced to mush. What did I do wrong? I’m willing to give it another shot. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Brian! 24 hours is a bit too long, if it had been cooked the next morning, that would have been perfect. I’ll add a more specific timeframe instead of just saying “overnight”. ❤️
Amazing! I have made this several times and it turns out great every time! In fact I’m making it again tonight! Thank you, thank you!
I am sooo happy to hear that Amber, thank you soooo much for the review, I really appreciate it!! 🙂 -Stephanie ❤️
Chicken fried recipe is the best yet. After tenderizing thinly sliced round steak I seasoned it before adding to the marinade. Also the meat was fried at 325FJ
Sounds like you nailed it, nice work! Can’t beat a perfectly cooked chicken fried steak. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!🩷
My recent experience was nothing short of excellent, and it left me looking forward to the next opportunity to savor this classic dish.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the great comments!💖
This was delicious! The tip to let the meat sit in buttermilk was a game changer for me. The steak was so tender and absolutely the best CFS I have ever had! What a great recipe! Read all the tips and make this! It’s amazing. Family loved it!
I’m so happy the family liked it Danielle! I’m extra happy to hear you found the tips helpful, nice work! Thanks so much for the great review!💖
That is the best gravy I have ever made! WOW!
Hi Brad! I am soooo happy to hear that, nicely done! I love this gravy too, it’s so good!!! Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie