right off the bat, i must apologize to my most faithful reader for not inviting him over for some of this. i'm, uh, sure it wasn't traditional enough for you to enjoy, ben. yeah, that's it. but i will make it up to you on monday, and you'll see how tomorrow. now, on to TNBR's chicken fried steak. as a native texan, i've eaten more than my share of CFS. and i've made my own a few times, but i've never been very happy with my attempts. i hate frying, but that's a good thing because i like the product of frying a wee bit too much. and i suck at making gravy. any kind of gravy. i'm a decent cook when i can follow a recipe, but the dishes you grew up with never seem to come with a recipe--it's done by feel. and i simply have no feel for gravy. i was playing a lot of guitar today, and i guess all those willie nelson and lyle lovett songs made me want CFS. one of things that makes TBNR's recipe different is that it has you whisk in baking powder & baking soda in the egg & buttermilk mixture used for coating the steak. i've never done this or heard of it being done. and their gravy was slightly different in that they cooked onion and garlic in the oil before adding the flour, and added a splash of chicken broth (and a little bit of dried thyme) to it as well before whisking in the milk. i hate frying. but i used a thermometer to make sure i had the oil at 375 degrees, i fried in 3 batches, keeping the done ones on a rack in the oven at 200 degrees. i have to tell you, the addition of the baking powder & baking soda makes a great difference. it makes the coating really crispy. the meat (cubed steak) was fork tender. the gravy was just right--creamy without being too thick, and flavorful in its own right thanks to the onion, garlic, and thyme. i even made a second pan of gravy without the onion, garlic, and thyme for those who might not like it and because, you know, you can never have enough gravy, right? (you should be nodding and muttering "right" at this moment, perhaps even saying "amen.") the gravy from TNBR was much better. overall verdict? it may indeed be the best CFS recipe. thumbs way up!
6 comments:
Amen. The last CFS I had was in Austin, Threadgills, and it was fine - loads a gravy and a giant pitcher of their texas martini (basically a quart or two of tequila and lime juice, no sugar, strained into a martini glass. um yum) Though I have to say calling it "the best" CFS is talking pretty damn big, my friend - I'll have to trust you can back it up.=P
Do you know that there are people i know from the North who have never had ANY chicken fried steak in their whole life? I almost passed out when I learned about that.
i'm not sure i'm ready to call it
the best CFS; just the best CFS recipe for home. a fine distinction, but it buys me a little wiggle room. threadgills is certainly right up there with the best, though, no doubt about it. the fact that janis joplin used to sing there somehow makes everything taste better.
i do feel sad for those who have never had CFS, but better never to have had it then to eat it with brown mushroom gravy--yes, i was served such a monstrosity once in tennessee. it still sends shivers down my spine.
doesn't it though?! Everytime i eat there i swear to god i can hear janis singing in my head and it makes those collard greens taste all the better.
mmm gravy. :)
I also hate to fry.... only tried
to make CFS a couple of times and it was awful. But, thankfully, I have married one of the best cooks ever, and he makes a mean CFS - so next time you visit, I'll have him rustle you up some (and maybe I'll make you a mess o' naner puddin' to go with) :)
Kunk
sounds like a perfect meal, kunk! then we can invite cindy down the next night to fry up some tacos for us--she's easy to trick into frying :)
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