In my previous foray with chicken fried steak, I found that round cuts, at least, unaltered, made for a poor dish. After consulting some recipes, I found that a much longer tenderizing period could be a solution, or using a “needling device” to create your own cube steak. In opted, for my experiment, to use cube steak purchased from the local supermarket.
A few tips I can share: get the cube steak patty slightly wet, salt and pepper, flour, egg wash, and put it back into the flour. But here’s the kicker: use your hands. Be gentle, but pat the mix in. Make sure it’s evenly coated. This stuff isn’t glue, it will unevenly coat unless you do it properly.
My only objection, I’m afraid, is that my sawmill gravy was a little thin. I made it with leftover oil, flour, chicken broth, and whole milk, but I suspect I used a little too much broth or a little too little flour. Either way, it tasted great, it just was too thin. Nonetheless, the dish was an overwhelming success.
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The trick to get gravy thick is to add less milk or/and broth first than the plan, so if it gets too thick then I add a bit more milk. It’s what I usually do and it works. 😉 I personal like country fried steak with mashed potatoes, white gravy (without broth) and corn.
I know a few friends of mine and some of people in my family use buttermilk for steak cube to soak in. The colour will look a bit different and taste a bit different. I like milk better than buttermilk.
By the way, do not use buttermilk for gravy or it will taste weird (a bit sour). I have tried it when I ran out of milk. 😛