Chicken Fried steak in Jalapenos (Recipe)

LTH,

As I am unable to contribute anything substantive to the Search for the Best Chicken Fried Steak I thought I would contribute a tried and true CFS recipe. This is a somewhat spicy dish though, for the truly over the top Chile-Head, you can substitute pickled habanero juice for part, or all of the pickled jalapeno juice.

I don't remember the original attribution, but I've been making this recipe, which I have adapted over the years, since reading it on a BBQ listserv in '98. Everyone I've given the recipe to has gone Wow!

Enjoy,
Gary
--

Chicken Fried steak in Jalapenos

2 pounds round steak cut 1/2 inch thick twice tenderized by the butcher
1-1/4 cup liquid from pickled jalapenos*
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
vegetable shortening -- preferably Crisco

Cut the steak into four equal portions. Pound the portions, if needed, until each is about 1/3 to 1/4 inch thick. Arrange the steaks in a shallow nonreactive dish, and pour 1 cup of the jalapeno liquid over them. Marinate the steaks in the jalapeno liquid for 2 hours. Most of the liquid will be absorbed into the steaks. Drain and blot lightly to remove excess moisture from the surface.

Mix an additional 2 tablespoons jalapeno liquid with the egg in a shallow dish. Stir together the flour, salt and pepper in another dish. Dredge the steak in the flour, then dip it in the egg, and back in the flour.

Put enough shortening into a cast iron skillet so that the steaks will be half-immersed in it during the frying. Warm the fat over medium heat. Turn** carefully once, until the meat is fully cooked through and the crumb coating is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes total. Drain the steaks, and transfer them to a platter. Keep them warm while you prepare Cream Gravy from the drippings.

Place the steaks on separate plates, add Paris's Best French Fries and cover both generously with the gravy.

Serve immediately.

*I sometimes substitute pickled habanero juice for part, or all of the pickled jalapeno juice to amp up the heat.

**Edited for clarity

G Wiv wrote: Add carefully once, until the meat is fully cooked through and the crumb coating is brown and crisp, about 8 minutes total.

Looks like a great recipe, think I'll try that out when I'm down visiting family and have more than just one carnivore in the house. I'm a little confused by the quoted sentence. Is there something missing or am I just a little (extra) slow this morning (I haven't finished my coffee yet)?

G Wiv wrote: Keep them warm while you prepare Cream Gravy from the drippings.

The recipe sounds great--ever try putting the Habaneros in the Cream Gravy?

Kman wrote:Is there something missing or am I just a little (extra) slow this morning (I haven't finished my coffee yet)?

Kman,

Should be Turn. I edited the recipe for clarity.

This really is a great recipe, and one that I seem to be getting in the mood to make. As in right-this-very-moment.

Enjoy,
Gary

trixie-pea wrote:The recipe sounds great--ever try putting the Habaneros in the Cream Gravy?

Trixie-Pea,

Nope, but it sounds like a very good idea. I'd use finely minced fresh habaneros.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:vegetable shortening -- preferably Crisco

Try peanut oil -- its got the 'tam' (taste) for such frying.

Steve Drucker wrote:

G Wiv wrote:vegetable shortening -- preferably Crisco

Try peanut oil -- its got the 'tam' (taste) for such frying.

LARD

This looks outstanding - I'm actually going to a buddy's house Friday night where he's preparing me some world-class CFS...

Question is- what kind of wine should I bring????

Or should I just stick to a bourbon?

Bossy came with some excellent "cube steaks" from whence (part) I know not where, but they're squarish and have been passed through the industrial meat tenderizer, thus making CFS the work of moments. Now, jalapeno juice just isn't going to fly in the Hays household, but I realized that Gary was onto something there - one problem I often have with CFS is that the steak itself is flavorless. As I was collecting the other ingredients, I tossed my steaks into a ziploc bag with my new favorite marinade, purchased Mojo Criollo (in the past, I'd made the stuff from scratch, but Goya does it better and there's only 1 labtastic ingredient listed)

I then took a page from Waderoberts and, after draining, dumped the meat into a mixture of two beaten eggs and about 1/2 cup of buttermilk,



and then dredged it by shaking each steak separately in a tupperware filled with flour I'd seasoned with a couple large pinches each of salt, pepper, and steak seasoning. I then made sure to smoosh even more flour into each steak, pushing it into any little red cracks that show as you turn it around. Each steak was fried in a preheated cast iron skillet with little over an inch of canola oil (which was what I had handy.)

I then strained out the oil, reserving promising-looking crispy bits and returned them and a couple teaspoons to the pan with some mushrooms, dusted everything with Wondra Flour, again a heavy pinch of salt, pepper, and steak seasoning, doused it with 1/2 and 1/2 and brought to a boil for a really rich, thick gravy. It was served with colcannon (made with broccoli raabe from the garden) and tomato/basil salad.



Damn, but it was good.

Mhays,

You're killin' me, you know that?

I'll be back in KC in a couple of days, for the start-up of the semester, and I think this is a no-brainer of a start for the season in Kansas...

Tnx!

Geo