This chicken fried steak recipe is inspired by the scene in Yellowstone where Jimmy demolishes a plate of chicken fried steak after a hard day at the 6666 Ranch in Texas. It’s a Southwestern take on a Southern classic: cube steak dredged twice through seasoned flour and buttermilk, fried until deeply golden and crispy, finished with sea salt.
The double-dredge is the technique that makes the crust stay on. Flour, then buttermilk, then flour again, with a rest on a wire rack between the second dredge and the hot oil. That resting step lets the coating set and is what prevents the batter from sliding off when it hits the oil.
The perfect chicken fried steak dinner includes my Smoky Mashed Potatoes and Sausage Gravy, and Oven Roasted Garlic Butter Green Beans. These Yellowstone-inspired Soutwestern Americana recipes are all compiled into my beautiful cookbook – Get my Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 4 4–5 oz cube steaks
- Sea salt
- Jackie's Smoky Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
- Jackie's Pan Fried Green Beans
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika in a pie pan or other shallow, rimmed dish.
- Whisk together buttermilk and egg in a shallow, rimmed pan.
- Place a steak in the flour mixture and flip to coat. Shake any excess back into the dish. Dip into the buttermilk mixture to coat, then dip it back in the flour mixture. Place the steak on a wire rack to dry a bit. This will help the batter stay on while frying. Repeat with the other 3 steaks.
- Heat an inch of vegetable oil to 350 F in a Dutch oven.
- Place a steak in the oil and cook until the top begins to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Very carefully flip to avoid cracking the coating and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oil, sprinkle with sea salt and let dry on a clean wire rack. Repeat with the remaining steaks.
- Serve with smoky mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans.
