Chicken Fried Steak

Ingredients

• 4 (900 grams) cube steaks about ⅓ to ½ pound each, about 2 pounds (900g) in total
• 1 teaspoon salt to season the steaks
• 1 cup (120 grams) cornstarch
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon tabasco hot sauce or any other hot sauce
• 2 cups (240 grams) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Oil for frying. Vegetable, canola, or peanut oil

For The Gravy

• ¼ cup (30 grams) all purpose flour
• 2 ¼ cups (530 ml) milk 2% (semi-skimmed milk)
• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels, then pound into ¼ inch thickness (either in a ziploc bag or between 2 pieces of plastic wrap). Then season with salt.
2. Prepare a dredging station. In one shallow bowl place the cornstarch, in a second bowl combine the egg with ¾ cup of buttermilk and hot sauce. And in a third bowl, combine the flour with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and baking powder.
3. Drizzle the remaining buttermilk in the dry flour mixture that was made in step 2, and then using your hands rub the mixture until it’s coarse like wet sand.
4. Dredge the steaks one at a time: coat in cornstarch and shake off any excess, then dip in the egg mixture and let any excess drain off, and finally press into the flour mixture so the mixture adheres well to the steak. Shake off any excess, and place on a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining steaks.
5. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a dutch oven, or a large frying pan, or a wok to 350°F/180°C. Cook the steaks one at a time, drop in oil and cook until crispy and golden 4-6 minutes in total. Then remove from oil, and drain on paper towels.
6. To make the gravy, add ¼ cup of oil to a saucepan (use oil from frying the steaks). Add flour, whisk and cook for 1 minute (it will become a little brown). Then slowly whisk in milk, and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and allow to thicken. Remove from the heat, and serve it over the steaks.
7. Serve steak with mashed potatoes and green beans or peas.