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Texas Style Chicken Fried Steak

A steak coated in seasoned flour and fried, served with a gravy made from drippings, broth, and milk.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,148 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓

Texas Style Chicken Fried Steak

Oven250°F
Time4 minutes per side

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the steaks

  1. Season steaks with salt and 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper.

  2. In a pie plate, combine eggs with paprika and cayenne. Dip steaks into egg mixture.

  3. In another pie plate, place some all-purpose flour. Dredge battered steaks with flour.

  4. Move steaks to a cooling rack and let rest 10–15 minutes. Wash the rack once you start frying, or use a clean one.

Fry the steaks

  1. Heat a 12‑inch cast‑iron skillet over medium‑high heat.

  2. Once hot, pour in 2 tbsp drippings.

  3. Add steaks in a triangle formation around the edges of the pan.

  4. Fry for 4 minutes per side.

  5. Remove steaks from pan and drain on a cooling rack above a sheet pan.

  6. Keep steaks warm in a 250°F oven.

Make the gravy

  1. Add remaining drippings and 3 tbsp flour.

  2. Whisk continuously until blonde color is achieved.

  3. Add chicken broth and deglaze pan.

  4. Bring to a boil over medium heat until reduced by ¾.

  5. Add milk mixture and remaining black pepper.

  6. Keep over medium heat until gravy coats back of spoon.

Serve

  1. Remove steaks to serving platters and drizzle with gravy.

  2. Serve warm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1205Calories
88 gProtein
42 gFat
111 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Drippingnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + chickentop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,148 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  2. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Beef + milktop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,759 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).

  4. Chicken + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,389 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).

  5. Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Bind the flour coating to the steaks and help it adhere during frying.
All-purpose flour
Forms a dry coating that browns and crisps when fried, and thickens the gravy.
Bacon drippings
Fat for frying that adds savory flavor and helps the coating brown.
Whole milk and heavy cream
Add liquid and richness to the gravy, giving it body and a smooth texture.
Chicken broth
Liquid that deglazes the pan and forms the base of the gravy.
Smoked paprika
Adds smoky aroma and color to the egg coating.

The step that matters

Whisking the flour into the drippings. Flour must be cooked in the hot fat while whisking constantly; this toasts the starch so it thickens smoothly without lumps or a raw flour taste, and is the base for the gravy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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