Chicken Fried Steak with Sawmill Gravy
Chicken Fried Steak. Also known as Country Fried Steak. Did anyone else meander through life at the very least slightly confused the first time you heard this recipe’s name? Was it chicken? Was it steak? Did you fry chicken and steak together? What on Earth was going on?! At some point along the way, I figured out through reading a menu or being told (I have no idea which), that chicken fried steak was essentially just battered and fried steak. It seems that the word “chicken” got thrown in because at the end of the day, the fried steak looks like fried chicken. Leave it to the culinary world to confuse the masses. Now that we’ve gotten the nomenclature out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Battered. Fried. Steak. Smothered in gravy. This must be what dinner is like in heaven.
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I actually hadn’t tasted this until a couple of years ago when out to eat with my Chief Culinary Consultant. It’s one of his favorite dishes, so when he ordered it and I said I’d never tried it before, he insisted that I take a bite. I barely chewed before I knew I had stumbled upon something utterly amazing. Fast forward to a month ago. I was flipping through my new copy of the The Homesick Texan Cookbook and my CCC pointed out chicken fried steak on one of the pages. It immediately went on my dinner bucket list, no questions asked. We finally got around to making it and found that, (1) it wasn’t nearly as difficult or time-consuming as I imagined it might be; and (2) it’s crazy delicious and deserves to be made at home without a second thought.
Now, sometimes chicken fried steak is served with a basic white gravy (made with a little fat, flour, and milk), and sometimes it’s served with sawmill gravy. Sawmill gravy is made the exact same way, except that it includes some crumbled breakfast sausage. I know what you’re thinking – sausage on top beef?? Look, we’re already battering and frying meat. Nothing was going to stop me from throwing a little sausage into the gravy. It takes the gravy to a completely euphoric level. Now I want everything I eat to be smothered in this gravy. It’s amazing. This whole dish is amazing. From the steak, to the gravy, to my favorite mashed potatoes, and even a tiny bit of vegetables – the whole thing is out of this world. I hear that buttermilk biscuits are also a popular side to the chicken fried steak meal. I will be sure to include those next time! Because there will certainly be a next time. Many, many next times.
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Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients
For the Steaks:
- 1½ pounds (680.39 g) top-round steak
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk
- Vegetable oil, for frying
For the Sawmill Gravy:
- ¼ pound (113.4 g) breakfast sausage
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups (366 ml) whole milk
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut the top-round steak into four pieces. Working with one piece at a time, place on a sturdy cutting board or clean countertop, cover with a large piece of plastic wrap, and pound the beef with a meat tenderizer until flattened and almost doubled in size (you want the meat to be about ¼-inch thick). Repeat with the remaining pieces. Sprinkle pieces of beef with salt and black pepper.
- In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. In another large, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and the buttermilk. Take a piece of the tenderized meat and dip it in the egg mixture. Next, place the meat in the bowl of seasoned flour. Turn to coat it thoroughly. Place the meat back into the egg mixture, turning to coat. Finally, return it back to the flour mixture, ensuring that it is evenly coated on both sides. Place on a clean baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces of meat.
- In a large, 12-inch cast iron skillet, heat ½ inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until a small fleck of flour dropped in the pan sizzles. Carefully place one or two pieces of the meat (whatever fits comfortably without overcrowding) into the skillet. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the blood starts bubbling out of the top of the steak. Using a pair of tongs, gently turn over the steaks and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove the steaks to a cooling rack to drain while you finish frying the remaining steaks. You can place the cooked steaks in a 200-degree oven to keep warm.
- Finally, make the sawmill gravy. (You can start this in another pan while the last piece of steak is cooking.) In a skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until browned, crumbling it as it cooks. With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage from the skillet and place on a plate. Drain the oil from the pan, reserving 2 tablespoons in the skillet (if your sausage didn't yield enough drippings, you can use vegetable oil to get to the 2 tablespoons). Sprinkle the flour over the drippings, and whisk together, cooking for about 2 minutes, until a dark roux is formed. Add the milk slowly to the skillet, whisking continuously. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue whisking until the mixture is thickened, about 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the reserved sausage, and season to taste with salt and black pepper. (If the gravy is too thick, you can thin it by whisking in more milk, a tablespoon at a time.)
- Serve the steaks with the sawmill gravy poured over top.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
To ensure the batter stays on the steak, dry your steak slices with a paper towel. After dredging the pieces in egg and flour, put the pieces on a rack to dry for about 20 minutes. This allows the flour coating to dry/stick to the meat while frying.
I do this for my fried chicken also.
There is also a device named “Fast Cutlet Maker V2” that flattens the meat and create a nice cube pattern on it. It’s popular in Poland.
Hi,
Correct me if i have this wrong, but as i understand here is that Chicken Fried Steak isn’t chicken but is actually a steak? Why? I mean….in my country a good steak that’s melting in your mouth is very, very expensive and only eaten on very special occasions and chicken is very cheap here and pork is a bit more expensive than chicken but affordable. Is such a good steak not way to expensive to eat it coated in flour and eggs and fried? In my country no one and i mean no one would do so with that expensive beef steak! Only eat it rare or medium rare or what your taste might be, but never ever fried! Baked in a skillet with a nob of good quality unsalted butter with mayby some fresh thyme or/and rosemary, but that’s it. Of course with salt and pepper. I’m totally confused here.
That been said….your gravy sounds to die for! We don’t make much effort of gravy. Just the butter that you used for baking your meat with some water or/and wine or/and broth. That’s it. Or if you want to make it more fancy, with a finely diced shallot and some kapers. But that’s more for restaurants. I steal your Sawmill gravy recipe! Love the name though. But i’ll use your braiding recipe for real chicken and/or pork! Not for my very expensive steaks! Sorry.
Anyway…Thank you for the gravy recipe and till next time.
Have a wonderfull day,
Marja
Hi Marja, The cut of meat used for chicken fried steak is very cheap and NOT what you would use for an actual steak dinner.
Are all the photos supposed to be of a pie? I see nothing that’s a chicken fried steak :)
Hi Laona, Oh my goodness, how weird! I have the page loaded right now and all I see is chicken-fried steak, no pie :)
My mom and I made this dish this morning for lunch with a side of savoury mashed sweet potatoes and grilled asparagus. I just finished eating it for lunch with my friend (brought her some) and we both say it’s delicious. This was my first time making and eating Chicken Fried Steak. Thank-you for sharing this recipe! I made extra gravy to have with biscuits tomorrow.
Sounds really good, thanks for sharing.
Simon
I have lived in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. In each place, I have found Chicken Fried Steak to be served with white gravy and Country Fried Steak to be served with a brown gravy. In fact, I once had a born and raised Texan lecture me on the fact that these are two different dishes and the gravy is what differs between the two. Oh, and I have never had either gravy with meat in them served on my steak. (Maybe that’s a regional thing?)
I am from Texas and I grew up eating this and its counterpart, Chicken Fried Chicken. Now that I’m living on the west coast, I make it whenever I’m missing home. My mother always added a little grated paremesan cheese to her flour she coated the chicken with for a little extra flavor/crunch.
In case you prefer stir fried vegetables and steak, you could possibly come up with a meal using both. As opposed to common perception, steak recipes and stir fry recipes don’t actually need to be different. I attempted this particular Pepper Steak Stir Fry at-home once, and even my children really love them. They love it a lot for that matter that they can actually eat the veggies! We were amazed and it has now, turn out to be one of our own family day meals since that time. To get an easy and wholesome meal, go through methods below.*
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Pretty tasty!!! Thanks!!
I make my version of sawmill gravy with bacon; at our house bacon would be a condiment if we would get the flavor without the fat!
i am truly appreciating every recipies you’ve posted, especially this one. it just rocks! :)
Droolingggg these pics look great..i love chicken but I havent tried chicken steaks with gravy before thanks for this great reciepe cant wait to try it!
I think I thought Chicken Fried Steak was chicken with incredible gravy until about 2 years ago! Definitely going to give this one a try – total comfort food!
OHHHH those photos look AHHHMazing!!! Country Fried Steak is one of my main diet weaknesses. I would rather have it than chocolate!! Thanks for this great recipe!
I had this when I was in FL last year. I had never had it before and I fell in love at first bite. I want to make it. One day. So crispy on the outside, and so yummy on the inside.
Oh this sounds and looks so delightful! I haven’t had country fried steak in forever… I think I might just need to make this stat!
I have never made chicken fried steak. I love it though, and your recipe looks so amazing! :)
Whenever I make this, the coating always falls off. It’s like steam gets under the coating and will not stick. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Georgia, A little of mine fell off as well. Your best bet is to make sure the steaks are completely dry when you start, so pat them repeatedly with a paper towel to remove any moisture. This will give the coating the best chance to stick.
also– check the temp of your oil– it needs to be REAL hot to keep the “crust” on– i’m dieting and this looks A-MA-ZING! – at the end of my 24 day challenge (www.sparkrulz.com) i am making this and next to anything chocolate i will definitely be checking your website again! THANKS FOR THIS!!!!
Sure fire way to keep the breading on. Coat in flour mixture first and let sit for 10min. This allows time for the gluten in the flour to adhear to the meat. I always had my breading sliding off until I started doing this. Something new I tried the other night. I used thin sliced pork chops instead of beef. No need to tenderize and O so good.
Thanks for sharing this tip!