When you are from the South, you’ve definitely heard of/tried/seen a chicken fried steak at some point in your sweet little life. Well, it also just so happens to be my husband’s all time favorite food. Whenever it’s on the menu, bam. That’s his pick. No question about it. I, on the other hand, loathe red meat. I don’t like to eat it, pick it up, look at it or even have it in my kitchen. Lucky for him, however, I happened upon a pretty interesting looking recipe for one and thought I’d try it out. You know how people always say “don’t judge a book by it’s cover?” Well, I’m guilty of that. I literally will check a book out at the library because I like the way the cover looks. I don’t even read the back of it. That’s pretty much what happened with the chicken fried steak recipe. The food blog was super aesthetically pleasing and they made that steak look good.
They won this red meat loathing girl over.
Judged it by it’s cover. Bought the ingredients. Fried it right up.
I will say, it was pretty intimidating because Chad stood behind me the whole time.
Judging me. With judging {i know how I like my chicken fried steak} eyes.
I have never fried anything in my entire life.
I might have sloshed some hot oil around and let out a little curse word.
But once I got the hang of it, I was frying that steak up like a boss.
I must admit, it was fun to try something new. And I evened out the playing field by oven roasting some healthy brussels sprouts. {my favorite}
Oh. And, Chad gave the clean plate of approval.
(and then I took a bow, did a happy dance, and enjoyed a cold beer)
Balsamic Oven-Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds Brussels Sprouts
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
- Sea Salt, to taste
- Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste
How To:
Preheat oven to roast at 375°F.
Peel off the outer, beat-up layers of the brussels sprouts.
Trim the ends, then cut brussels sprouts in half.
In a large bowl, toss together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Then add the brussels sprouts and toss evenly.
Lightly oil a cookie sheet and spread out the brussels sprouts. (cut side facing down) Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, flip the sprouts over, then roast them again for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Chicken Fried Steak via (I’m A Food Blog):
Steak Ingredients:
- 1 steak of choice (I chose a round steak from Whole Foods and pounded it for tenderization)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- oil for pan-frying
Gravy Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons duck fat (I know.)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- salt and pepper
How To:
(Depending on what type of steak you purchased, you might have to pound it a little to tenderize it. I did this for about two minutes on each side)
Place the flour into a shallow dish (I used glass pie dishes, as they were shallow but large enough to hold the steaks) and mix with the salt and pepper. Crack the egg in another shallow dish and whisk lightly. Dredge the meat in the flour, then the egg, then the flour again.
In a large frying pan, heat up about 1/2 cm of oil over medium-high. Once the oil begins to simmer, add the steak and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 4-5 minutes per side. (I ended up cooking each side a little longer on medium heat, as my cut of steak was a little thick) Remove from the pan and set aside while making gravy.
In a sauce pot, melt the duck fat over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and cook while stirring until thoroughly mixed. While whisking, slowly pour in the milk, then the broth. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, whisking occasionally until slightly thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper. (This is a little difficult as it can thicken pretty quickly..so just make sure to stir the whole time! I had Chad help me with this step!)
Now, enjoy your chicken fried steak and balsamic brussel sprouts and then have your husband do the dishes and help you clean the hot oil from every corner of the kitchen!
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