Chicken-Fried Steak -- The Sunday Dinner That Made Birmingham Home

April. This month I was offered a position as lead teacher at the daycare in Birmingham that partners with UAB, the one where I have been observing for the research project. The director, who has been watching me work during my observation hours, asked if I was interested in a full-time position. I had to explain that I am a full-time student working part-time as a research assistant and that I cannot take full-time work right now. She said: what about part-time, twenty hours a week, flexible around your schedule? I said let me think about it.

I thought about it. I talked to Dr. Ochoa, who said: you will learn things in the classroom that you cannot learn in the research lab. And vice versa. She said both are real. Take both. I said that is a lot. She said yes it is. That is not a reason not to do it.

I took it. Twenty hours a week, flexible schedule, in the toddler room of a daycare one mile from campus. The lead teacher role. I will be paying for school partly through research assistant work and partly through this. I will be tired. I will be doing the right things.

On Sunday I made a full Sunday dinner at my Birmingham apartment for the first time, Gloria driving up from Prattville with James to see the new place. I made fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread in the cast iron skillet she gave me, and banana pudding. She sat at my kitchen table in my Birmingham apartment and ate my food and looked around at the place I was making mine and said: you have made a home here. I have. I really have.

That Sunday dinner—the fried chicken, the greens, Gloria sitting at my table in my apartment looking at the home I had made—is the meal I keep coming back to in my head. Chicken-Fried Steak lives in that same territory for me: it is the kind of food that says I made this for you, sit down, we have time. When I want to recreate that feeling of a full Southern table without the full production, this is the recipe I reach for. It has that same weight to it, that same sense of occasion, even on a Tuesday.

Chicken-Fried Steak

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 cube steaks (about 6 oz each), tenderized
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• Vegetable oil, for frying (about 1/2 inch depth in skillet)
• For the white gravy:
• 3 tbsp reserved pan drippings
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk, warmed
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Season the flour. In a shallow dish, whisk together 1 1/4 cups of the flour with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and onion powder. Set aside the remaining 3 tbsp flour for the gravy.
2. Make the egg wash. In a second shallow dish, beat together the eggs and 1/2 cup milk until smooth.
3. Dredge the steaks. Pat the cube steaks dry. Dredge each steak in the seasoned flour, pressing firmly so it adheres, then dip into the egg wash, letting the excess drip off, then back into the flour for a second coat. Set on a wire rack and let rest for 5 minutes so the coating sets.
4. Heat the oil. Pour vegetable oil into a large cast iron skillet to about 1/2 inch depth. Heat over medium-high heat until a pinch of flour sizzles immediately on contact, about 350°F.
5. Fry the steaks. Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry each steak 3—4 minutes per side until deep golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain. Season lightly with salt right out of the oil.
6. Make the white gravy. Carefully pour off most of the frying oil, leaving about 3 tbsp of drippings in the pan. Return the skillet to medium heat. Whisk in the reserved 3 tbsp flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1—2 minutes until the roux turns lightly golden and smells nutty. Gradually pour in the warmed milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Cook 4—5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the gravy thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season generously with salt and black pepper.
7. Serve. Plate the steaks and ladle the white gravy over the top. Serve immediately alongside mashed potatoes, collard greens, or cornbread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 610 | Protein: 40g | Fat: 31g | Carbs: 41g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 810mg