The Absolute Best Cut To Use For Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken fried steak is one of those comforting meals that hinges on ingredients that are relatively easy to find at a reasonable cost. All you really need to pull off the Southern dish are a handful of spices, flour, milk, oil, and then the steak. When it comes to the steak, you might think you have to shell out cash to get the best cut, but that's not the case according to Nicole Brisson, executive chef and partner of Brezza and Bar Zazu located in Resorts World Las Vegas.

"Because you are looking for a tender steak I have always used cube steak," Brisson says. "In my opinion, chicken fried steak is more about the breading and gravy rather than the steak being the focus. This is probably the reason cheaper cuts are usually utilized for this dish." Cube steak is the most commonly used cut, including in our diner-style chicken fried steak recipe, but you can also use round steak — just use a meat tenderizer before dredging and frying.

According to our recipe, use one cube steak per serving. Each cube steak should be around a pound per serving. When using cube steaks, the meat should already be prepared and ready to cook for the most part. If your butcher sells thicker cube steaks, or you use another cut mentioned above, use the mallet to pound out the meat thin between pieces of plastic wrap. Dredge the prepared cube steaks in flour, perhaps combined with spices like cayenne pepper or garlic powder, in milk or egg, then back into flour for the final coating. Cook until golden brown, which should only take a few minutes per side because you're working with this thin, tenderized steak.

In addition to the breaded and fried cube steaks, most recipes rely on a pan gravy to go on top. To make it a complete meal, there is an array of side dishes to pair with both the chicken fried steak and gravy. Some obvious but traditional choices are our creamy garlic mashed red potatoes or creamy Instant Pot mashed potatoes to soak up the extra gravy on the plate. For a balanced meal, green vegetables might be a good idea to temper the richness of the fried steaks and mashed potatoes. Consider our garlic butter Brussels sprouts recipe, or keep it simple with roasted garlic or steamed green beans.