Crispy on the outside, tender and juicy inside, Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy is a dinner the whole family will love. It’s simple to make and it’s ready in less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
I’m a lover of southern food- so much so that I sometimes wonder if I were actually raised there and somehow transplanted to the north without any recollection of living elsewhere.
Except for my love of southern comfort foods, Spanish moss and sweet tea.
If given the opportunity to pick just one food to eat for the rest of my life…it would be a toss up between crispy fried chicken or Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy. It truly is my absolute favorite thing to eat on the planet.
And Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy couldn’t be simpler to make. It all starts with a cube steak which is, essentially, a beef round steak that’s been tenderized into oblivion then dredged in a seasoned flour mixture, egg and then back into the flour before being lightly fried to a crispy golden brown.
Why is it called Chicken Fried Steak if there is no chicken in the recipe?
I know it’s confusing! This recipe doesn’t contain any chicken, but it’s is so-named because the cooking method is similar to that of pan-fried chicken breast cutlets.
It’s actually quite genius if you ask me, and whoever created this beautiful thing decided that you MUST make a creamy pan gravy from the drippings to drape lovingly over your crispy fried goodness. How dreamy does that sound?
Do you know what’s even better? This easy to make Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy is ready in less than 30 minutes. That’s right….30 minutes!
Because the steaks are thin, they cook quickly and evenly. They’re perfect for busy weeknights and always a huge hit with my family.
Where can I find cube steak to make Chicken Fried Steak?
You should be able to find cube steak in your regular market. It’s not your usually “throw on the grill” kind of steak. Ask your butcher to assist you if you are unable to find it.
To me, it looks a little bit like ground beef. It’s steak that has been pounded with a tenderizer until it creates little dimples all over the steak. This helps greatly with tenderizing the meat and making it easy to cook as it will all be an even thickness.
And you know what the best thing is? This recipe is totally family friendly. In fact, your family will love you to pieces if you serve this for dinner, and they’ll be begging you to make it again. I view it as the perfect Sunday night dinner.
We may not be from the south but I certainly try to channel my inner southern belle when I’m in the kitchen. And this recipe is simply fabulous.
Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy is a comfort food, treat-yourself kind of meal for sure. But it’s totally worth the extra 1/2 hour on the treadmill, and everyone you serve this to will be so happy and content with your dinner choice.
So many people have enjoyed this recipe. I love to read through the comments to see what people who have made the recipe are saying. A lot of people say that Chicken Fried Steak is much better than fried chicken. And I have quite a few people asking if they can try this recipe with actual chicken in place of cube steak. I haven’t tried it that way, but let us know in the comments if you do!
For me, I truly enjoy the crispy coating on the steak, and the white country gravy really puts it over the top. I don’t make this often but when I do… my family is so very excited. It’s the perfect Sunday night dinner.
Chicken fried steak with Country Gravy is comfort food to the max. And it’s a classic that thousands of RecipeGirl readers really seem to be enjoying!
If you enjoy this recipe, I have recommendations for a few more Southern favorites too. Cheesy Shrimp and Grits is one that a whole lot of people have been enjoying. My first time having shrimp and grits was in Savannah, Georgia, and this recipe rivals that experience for sure!
Truly Crispy Oven Fried Chicken, Caramel Cake, Southern Savory Corn Pudding and Southern Pimento Cheese are four more favorites the the Southern cooking category.
Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy
Ingredients
STEAKS:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 pounds cube steak
COUNTRY GRAVY:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1½ cups low sodium chicken or beef broth
- 1 cup milk
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
PREPARE THE STEAKS:
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until ripples begin to form.
- While the oil heats, whisk 1 cup flour, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and water.
- Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Dredge one steak in the flour mixture, then the egg and then back in the flour mixture to coat.
- Add the steak to the skillet. Repeat with the remaining steaks adding more oil as needed. Work in batches if necessary as to not overcrowd the pan. (Overcrowding will cause the steaks to steam and the coating will not get crisp.) Cook the steaks for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Flip the steaks and continue cooking for an additional 4 minutes until golden. Transfer the steaks to a platter or baking sheet and cover with foil to keep warm.
PREPARE THE GRAVY:
- Add butter to the skillet and sprinkle with flour. Whisk together in the pan and cook until golden. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock and continue cooking until thickened. Stir in the milk until smooth and beginning to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the steaks immediately with the gravy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The meat used in the video is NOT cube steak. It appears to be some other type of thinly sliced steak. If you pound and flatten cube steak, you might get it to look similar to that used in the video, which would enable it to cook faster and be a little more tender. But my experience with cube steak is that it must be cooked for a LONG time, bet done in the oven. It would not be suitable for this dish, in my opinion. I will try this because it looks easy and delicious, but I will not use cube steak.
I am southern and my mother made this dish many times, over her lifetime. You can also use round steak or a veal steak, but you have to cook it longer on a lower heat so that it’s tender. Southern food is, as you say, is comfort food. No one does it better than Paula Deen.
This was very good. I used pork cube steaks because that’s what I had on hand. I think they were more tender than steak cubes in the end. Will use those from now on. Lots of flavor. The gravy was very good too. Thank you so much!!
That’s great to know that it was good with pork too, thank you!
Mine did not turn out crispy. What am I doing wrong?
Having the pan sufficiently hot before cooking helps make it more crisp.
If you cooked it on a lower temp, you can turn the heat up on high, at the end of your cooking time, and crisp the outside as you take it up out of the skillet.
This is THE BEST chicken fried steak I’ve ever made. Meat tender, the breading crispy and the seasonings delicious. The pan gravy was outstanding. Served it with mashed potatoes and corn. Took under 45 minutes including prep time. My son said it was the best dinner I’ve made in years!! And I home cook on the regular. This went straight to my personal recipe book and posted on Facebook with a pic. OUTSTANDING !!!
I would also like to know if there is another kind of steak to use cube steak is often grisly
I’m not sure- that’s traditional for this recipe!
I’ve made this and finely crushed a tasty flavoured handful of corn chips and added them to the flour for super extra crunch.
Have you ever tried chicken fried chicken with a chicken breast?
Please send me your recipes.
I have not!
Great recipe once you scroll past all the useless information about it!
My name is Anne and I’m from the south, the DEEP south in fact – Mississippi !! I now live in Fl. And have lived here 20 years- comfort food is somethin that’s a part of you when u grow up in the south and are brought up eating foods like this!! I too also luv CFS and fried chicken- my grandma raised us kids growing up and everyday we ate home cooked foods such as this and corn bread was served everyday with every meal!! Her luv was cooking and she fed everyone that came through the front door and got insulted if u wasn’t eating! She made the best of EVERYTHING but the ones she made I luved the most was her fried chicken, CFS and chicken n dumplings!! No one made those better than her! And now living in Fl. And not getting to eat her delicious cooking anymore I copy her recipes and have recipes from her recipe box and I keep our family tradition going with what I learned from her!! … the ONLY reason I didn’t give your recipe a 5 star rating is bcuz of the gravy, we always had buttermilk gravy with ours and once u have had it with yours u will NEVER go back to plain white gravy!! The country fried steak was good though.
Thanks– I’d love to know how you make your buttermilk gravy!
Ann your mother sounds like mine. Her mother taught her to cook, I’m sure, and like you her mother was born & raised in Mississippi. They didn’t move to Texas until the 1890’s. My mother used round steak for this meal. She would crisp it then turn the heat down low (like a simmer) and then turn it back up on high as she was ready to take it up. That’s also how she cooked her fried chicken.
I too make this and fried chicken as well as gravy for biscuits
Cube steak is very very tough and grisley. Is there another kind of steak you can use//
I’m southern. This would work with round or veal steak. That said you should lower the heat and cover it so it cooks slowly and will be tender. You can raise the temp up as you’re taking it up, to make sure it’s crisp.