We’re walking you through my recipe for a classic comfort food: chicken fried steak with beef mushroom gravy. This video will teach you how to prepare and fry a top sirloin steak to get a perfect crunchy, crispy crust, using a two-stage dredging process that includes a wet dredge with buttermilk, or heavy cream and vinegar, and a dry dredge with flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. I’ll also demonstrate how to create a flavorful beef mushroom gravy from scratch using a blonde roux, which is a key flavorful thickener. Follow along for my step-by-step guide to achieving a restaurant-quality meal at home and saving money in this economy. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to help others find these great recipes.
Special Equipment:
Metal cooling rack, large steep-sided skillet, meat mallet
Ingredients:
For the steak:
- 1.25 lbs top sirloin or a similar cut like cube steak or top/bottom round
- Vegetable oil (or another high-temperature oil like peanut or safflower oil) for frying
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose seasoning (optional)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
If you don’t have any buttermilk, alternatively use the following:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1-1.5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar)
For the gravy:
- 4 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon “Better than Bouillon” beef paste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste, this may not be needed
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions:
Prepare the Dredges and Roux
In a bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. If using, add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose seasoning and mix well. Set this dry dredge aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the egg, buttermilk (alternatively, heavy cream and vinegar), 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Whisk until everything is well mixed. This will be your wet dredge.
In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the 1/4 cup of butter. Once melted, add the 1/4 cup of flour and stir to combine. Cook for three to five minutes, or until the mixture becomes nutty and turns a light blonde color. This is a roux blonde, which has excellent thickening power. Remove the roux from the heat and set it aside in a heat resistant bowl.
Prepare the Steak
Trim any large veins of fat from the sirloin, then cut the meat into four or five serving-sized pieces.
Using a meat mallet, lightly pound the steak pieces to about a half-inch thickness. Avoid using too much force; the weight of the mallet is enough.
Take a couple of tablespoons of the wet dredge and mix it into the dry dredge to create “clots” that will become flaky and crispy when fried.
Dredge each piece of steak by first coating it in the wet dredge, shaking off any excess. Then, toss it in the dry dredge, and repeat the process for a second time.
Place the dredged steaks on a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes to allow the coating to set. Use a separate, clean rack for the cooked steaks.
Cook the Steak and Gravy
In a wide, high-sided skillet, heat about 3 cups of vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Use a thermometer to bring the oil temperature to about 350°F or a little higher to account for the temperature drop when the food is added.
In a separate saucepan, combine the beef broth, bouillon paste, black pepper, and kosher salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
Add the sliced mushrooms to the simmering broth.
Once the steak has rested, add two or three pieces at a time to the hot oil. Fry for about two minutes per side, or until golden brown.
When the steaks are cooked, remove them and place them on a clean cooling rack to rest.
Once the beef broth is boiling, add about two-thirds to three-quarters of the roux to the saucepan and stir well to prevent lumps. The liquid must be boiling for the roux to activate and thicken the gravy.
Check the gravy’s thickness by seeing if it coats the back of a spoon. Add more roux if a thicker consistency is desired. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Once the gravy is ready, reduce the heat to low to keep it warm.
Serve
Serve the chicken fried steak with a generous amount of beef mushroom gravy on top. Enjoy!
Serves 4
