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I've noticed that some folks have been searching the site for "chicken fried steak" recipes.
Chicken fried steak is a classic Southern recipe. I've always been sort of ambivalent about it,
because really good chicken fried steak has been an uncommon experience for me. The number one
complaint that I've always had about it is the meat itself. It's not too difficult to make a
good batter, but many people and many Southern restaurants tend to use the cheapest meats that
they can find for this dish. No matter how good the batter and gravy are, a piece of tough,
stringy, gristly meat ruins the dish. The usual choices are round steak, cubed steak, "minute
steak", and hamburger.
Round steak is the best if it's tenderized. Lots of chicken fried steak recipes call for cubed
steak, but cubed steak is the one that often turns out to be tough and string. When it's not
gristly, it's fine, but when it is, it's like eating batter-fried rubber bands. "Minute steaks"
are pretty much the same thing as cubed steaks. I've had great battered hamburger "steaks" with
the same gravy that's used on chicken fried steak, but I don't consider that to be a chicken fried
steak. Call me a purist.
When it's tender, I like a piece of chicken fried steak even without the gravy. To me, it's more
flavorful that way - the gravy tends to drown the flavor of the batter-fried meat. Anyhow, below
are some recipes for those who are searching.
Phaed
Chicken-Fried Round Steak
2 lbs. round steak, tenderized
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Cream Gravy (recipe follows)
Cut steak in serving pieces and pound flat with a tenderizer mallet. Beat eggs with milk.
Mix flour with salt and pepper. Dip steak in egg mixture, then in seasoned flour. Fry in
1/2 inch of hot oil in a large skillet until brown on both sides. Serve with gravy.
4 to 6 servings.
--Cream Gravy:--
1 tbsp. butter or drippings
1 to 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 c. milk or half and half, warmed
Salt and pepper
If using butter, melt in skillet. Stir in flour. Remove from heat; whisk in milk.
Return to heat and stir until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
-------------------------------
Chicken-Fried Steak
1 round steak, cut 1/2" thick & tenderized
2 eggs
2 tbsp. water
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 c. flour
4-6 tbsp. vegetable oil
Beat eggs and water together. Mix the 1/2 cup flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper
on a piece of wax paper. put the 1 cup flour on another piece of wax paper.
Dip steaks in flour, then in egg mixture, then in cornmeal mixture. Brown meat,
2 pieces at a time, in hot oil on both sides in a large heavy skillet. Return
all meat to skillet; lower heat; cover. Cook 10 minutes or until tender.
Remove steaks to platter. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the pan fat.
Pan Gravy:
3 tbsp. pan fat
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. milk
Blend flour, salt and pepper into fat; stir in milk. Continue cooking and
stirring until all gravy thickens and bubbles, 1 minute. If gravy is too thick
add more milk. (You do not want gravy to be very thick as it will continue to
thicken in the oven.) Return meat to the pan with gravy and spoon gravy over meat.
Bake in 300 degree oven for 1 to 2 hours or until very tender.
---------------------------------------
Real "Texas" Chicken Fried Steak
Follow recipe instructions exactly as written. Tenderize your steak (always round steak).
Don't overdo it. Try going over in opposite directions so it is properly and uniformly
pierced. Not only is the beef not as tough as it used to be, but you don't want shredded
beef, either. Don't use too much grease. If you do you will wind up with a deep fried
steak instead of a chicken fried steak. The grease should be just deep enough to cover
the steaks and it should be thoroughly heated before they are added. The hotter the grease,
the quicker it will set the flour and keep it from absorbing grease.
2 c. of all purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
2 c. milk
Pure vegetable shortening for frying
Place the round steak on a cutting board, trim and discard bone and excess fat. With a
meat tenderizer, pound each piece on both sides, going over meat twice in opposite directions.
Set aside. Combine flour with salt and pepper. Place a 10 inch, cast iron skillet (others
will work but cast iron give the best results) over a medium flame and add shortening to
start heating. Dip the steaks in milk, then dredge both sides in the seasoned flour, patting
to work in the flour and seasonings. Test temperature of shortening by sprinkling a few drops
of milk into it. The milk should sizzle. Add steaks, taking care not to crowd them, and cook
until golden brown on both sides and fully cooked. This will take 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Serve with cream gravy (below). SERVES FOUR.
The Cream Gravy:
3 c. milk
2 to 3 tbsp. all purpose flour
4 to 5 tbsp. pan drippings
Salt and pepper to taste
This is another recipe that I haven't received an actual request for, but that the
stats show people have been searching the site for.
7up Beef Stew - Crock Pot
Ingredients
* 1 lb beef stew meat
* 1 can 7up
* 1 can cream of mushroom soup
* 1 beef bouillon cube
* sour cream (if desired)
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients (except sour cream) in crock pot. Cook, covered, on low for 7-8 hours.
2. Serve topped with sour cream, if desired.
https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/1553/
Beer Cheese Dip
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch milk recipe original Ranch salad dressing mix
1/2 - 1/3 c. beer
Chopped green onion
Additional cheddar cheese
Combine cheddar cheese, cream cheese and salad dressing mix. Gradually stir in beer until
mixture is to desired consistency. Garnish with green onion and additional cheddar cheese.
Serve with pretzels or assorted fresh vegetables
---------------------------------
Miss Hurley's Kentucky Beer Cheese
Ingredients
3/4 bottle of flat beer of your liking (in Kentucky, that would be BBC Altbier)
16 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated; use a combination of your favorites or one
that always speaks to you.
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 medium onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco or hot sauce of choice
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (in Kentucky that would be Bourbon Barrel Aged) --
vegetarian Worcestershire would be fine here as would Pickapeppa sauce
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon dry mustard (this is a KOD addition)
Method
Pour a 12-ounce bottle of beer of your choosing into a glass and allow it to sit until
it looses its effervescence. This could take up to an hour, but don't worry if you don't
have that much time.
Combine all ingredients except beer in food processor and PULSE until slightly blended.
Then turn processor ON and slowly pour beer through food chute. Mixture will be soft,
but will harden in refrigerator.
Make one or two days ahead of time, as taste is better once flavors have time to blend.
Serve in a ceramic crock or ramekin with pretzel rods, crackers, celery sticks, carrot
sticks, and radishes.
-Sherry Hurley
-----------------------------------------
Beer Cheese
1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar
3/4 cups grated Parmesan
1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
1/2 Tablespoon Tabasco (more if you want it spicy)
2 Tablespoons Mayo
2 chopped green onions
1/4 cup beer
Grate all your cheese, or use bagged, I have done both. Toss it all in a bowl and mix well.
Refrigerate overnight.
Another searched-for item.
Kartoffel Kloesse (Potato Croquettes)
9 med. size potatoes
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs, well beaten
1 c. flour
2/3 c. fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 c. butter
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 to 2 tbsp. chopped onion
Scrub potatoes and cook in their jackets until soft. Remove the skins and put potatoes
through a ricer into a bowl. Thoroughly mix in the salt, eggs, flour, 2/3 cup bread
crumbs, and nutmeg. Form mixture into balls (if mixture is too moist, add more bread crumbs).
Drop the balls into boiling salted water. When balls come to the surface, allow them to boil
for 3 minutes. Remove one from liquid and cut open; if center is dry, they are sufficiently
cooked. Remove from liquid to hot platter and pour over them a dressing made as follows:
brown the butter in a skillet; add the 1/2 cup bread crumbs and onion. Cook for several
minutes. 12 to 14 servings.
----- Original Message -----
From: Sharon
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2009 2:12 PM
Subject: Baked Spam recipe
Hi there.
I have been wanting to locate a recipe for baked spam with apricots which my mother used
to make a lot in the 60's/70s. She no longer has the recipe and doesn't remember exactly
how it goes.
What I remember of it is that she would take the Spam whole out of the can and then score
it as you would a ham and then stud it with cloves. I believe there was a brown sugar glaze
of some sort and it was baked with canned apricot halves, can't remember if they were ON the
loaf or just around it.
I would love to have this recipe if you could find it for me. Probably was on the back of a
Spam can I'm guessing.
Thanks so much! Love your site and have passed it on to others.
Sharon
Hi Sharon,
I cannot find any baked spam recipe with canned apricots. Your mother may have adapted
hers from a baked ham recipe.
The original baked spam recipe from the can is the first one below. The second one is a
variation . The only spam recipe that I can find with apricots is the third one below.
The label ingredients in classic Spam are: chopped pork shoulder meat with ham meat added,
salt, water, sugar, and sodium nitrite to help keep its color. That jelly-like stuff on
it is aspic, which forms from the cooling of meat stock.
SPAM, which was introduced by Hormel on July 5, 1937, was originally called "Hormel Spiced
Ham" According to Wikipedia, the name change came about because the product began to lose
market share. The name "SPAM" was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest. A Hormel
official once stated that the original meaning of the name "Spam" was "Shoulder of Pork and Ham".
Since fresh meat was difficult to get to the soldiers on the front, World War II saw a boom
in SPAM consumption. GIs started eating Spam for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Some soldiers
referred to Spam as "ham that didn't pass its physical" and "meatloaf without basic training".)
Surpluses of Spam from the soldiers' supplies made their way into native diets on the islands
of the Pacific. Consequently, Spam is a unique part of the history and effects of U.S. influence
in the Pacific. The residents of the state of Hawaii and the territories of Guam and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) consume the most Spam per capita in the
United States.
There are dozens of ways to eat SPAM, and in these troubled economic times, it might be a
budget meal worth consideration. Just remember that it is high in fat and sodium just like ham.
Phaed
Baked Spam
1 can Spam
Sauce:
1/3 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. vinegar
1 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Place Spam in shallow pan. Score top. Stud surface with cloves.
Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 minutes.
Pour sauce over loaf and bake another 15 minutes, basting every 5 minutes.
------------------------------
Baked Spam
2 cans Spam
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. pineapple juice
1 tbsp. whole cloves
Mix 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice with 1 cup brown sugar together to make a paste.
Score top of Spam. Pat mixture into Spam and stud with cloves. Place in a baking pan
and baste with remaining pineapple juice. Bake about 1/2 to 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Continue to baste. Remove from oven. Let cool, then slice.
------------------------------
Polynesian bake
1/4 cup lemon juice
12-oz can SPAM, cut into 7 slices
1/4 cup apricot preserves
Dried apricots
1 tbsp prepared mustard
Maraschino cherries
1/4 tsp pepper
Mushrooms
1 fresh pineapple
Heat oven to 350. In small bowl combine lemon juice, preserves, mustard and pepper;
stir to blend. With sharp knife, halve the pineapple, cutting through foliage and fruit.
Cut flesh away from skin; slice crosswise to yield 6 slices. Use remaining pineapple
half in fresh fruit salad or serve fresh pineapple with other meals. Alternate pineapple,
SPAM slices to form loaf; place in halved pineapple. Brush with apricot mixture. Bake
for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through, brushin with marinade every 15 minutes.
Garnish with dried apricots, maraschino cherries or fluted mushrooms.
Yield: 6 servings
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Phaed,
Thank-you so very much! That first recipe pretty much sounds like it with the exception
of the apricots which she must just have added but are very good! Can't wait to give it
a try and take a stroll down Memory Lane!
Again, I can't thank you enough!
Sharon
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