Lodge Menu: Chicken Fried Steak

One of the anchors in the Lodge menu has to be Chicken Fried Steak.  It's probably the most requested meal by returning visitors and it's always served with mashed potatoes, cream gravy, green peas, salad, hot rolls and sweet tea.
This staple entree started with Mama Die in the Piney Woods of East Texas.  We don't know where she got it from, but she taught it to Grammie.  When my Dad transplanted his yankee roots to Texas in 1979, Grammie taught him (ironically, not her daughter, aka my Mom).  Grammie also passed on Beef Stew, but that's another entry.

Originally, the recipe called for round steak, beaten and tenderized, but that didn't work for Dad. It was messy and time consuming with all the fat trimming that took the fun right out of the kitchen.  So, a few years ago, Dad migrated to cube steak.  Sure, it's so finely chopped that it tends to fall apart, but you don't have all the violence that goes along with the other stuff.

Chicken Fried Steak
3-4 lbs Cube Steak
4 eggs 1/2 cup milk
1-2 packages of saltine crackers

Heat 3/4" oil in a deep cast iron skillet
Cut the steak into individual pieces (This is not a monster tenderloin from the Truck Stop)
Mix eggs and milk into deep plate
Generously crumble (but not crushed to dust) crackers into separate plate
Batter steak pieces in egg/milk mixture on both sides
Dip into cracker crumbs
Fry in skillet




Cream Gravy
Once the meat is fried, reserve 2 tbsp oil along with 2-3 tbsp of "crumbles" from skillet
Add above to 2/3 cup milk & 1/3 cup water along with flour to desired texture/taste
Shake ingredients in an airtight bowl
Pour into hot skillet and stir over medium heat... salt & pepper to taste

Lodge Tips:
Like Mexican Cornbread, the cast iron skillet makes a reappearance in a similar role.  The oil has to be hot enough to fry immediately.  Treat the battered pieces like pancakes.  Instead of bubbling, the top & edges start to turn dark when the bottom is ready to flip.  Feeds a flock of missionaries, inlaws, or van load of youth on a Sunday afternoon.