The Homesick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain

Author:Lisa Fain [Fain, Lisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: 2011-10-18T05:00:00+00:00

CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK

4 SERVINGS

All Texans have their favorite chicken-fried steak, and I’m no exception: mine is my dad’s. His version was my introduction to the dish, and I was fortunate as a child to be able to eat it at least once a week. I knew dinner was going to be divine if I came home to the smells and sounds of chicken-fried steak frying in the pan. And while I’ve had hundreds of different chicken-fried steaks since, his is still superior to all others. He is renowned for his recipe and method—a craft he learned from his mother, who learned it from her mother. So not only is his the best, but it’s also part of my culinary legacy—a fine inheritance, if I don’t say so myself.

Now, before I outline how to make it, a few words of caution. The preparation of chicken-fried steak is a violent, messy, and dangerous affair. Do not be afraid of small chunks of meat flying from your tenderizer and adhering to your walls. Do not be afraid of being covered head to toe in a pastelike mixture of flour, batter, and grease. And do not be afraid of hot oil splattering and some screechy sizzling as you flip the steaks in the skillet. Be patient: in the midst of this bloody battle, this culinary chaos, you will ultimately find both the beauty and order that is a plate of chicken-fried steak served with cream gravy.

If you still have reservations about chicken-fried steak, consider these words from the late Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Jerry Flemmons: “As splendid and noble as barbecue and Tex-Mex are, both pale before that Great God Beef dish, chicken-fried steak. No single food better defines the Texas character; it has, in fact, become a kind of nutritive metaphor for the romanticized, prairie-hardened personality of Texans.” High praise, indeed!

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