Country Fried Steak with White Gravy
Tenderized cube steaks in a crunchy double-dipped crust, pan-fried in cast iron and smothered in peppery cream gravy made in the same skillet.
- Full Meals
- Cast iron / Dutch oven
- Pan fry
- Beef
- Dinner
- 50 min total
- Serves 4
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
Enter a number of at least ½, in steps of ½.
Original recipe serves 4. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
Steaks
- 4 cube steaks, about 6 oz each
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Breading
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 1 cup vegetable oil, for frying
White gravy
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper, coarse, plus more to taste
Gear
- 12-inch cast iron skillet
- Two shallow dishes
- Wire rack and sheet pan
- Whisk
Some gear links may be affiliate links. Disclosure.
Steps
Step 1: Pat the steaks dry and season both sides with the salt and pepper.
Step 2: Set up two shallow dishes: whisk the flour with the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne and salt in one. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce in the other.
Step 3: Dredge a steak in flour, dip it in the egg, then press it into the flour again, firmly, so the coating is thick and shaggy. Set on a rack. Repeat. Let them sit 10 minutes.
Step 4: Heat the oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high to about 350°F (a pinch of flour should sizzle hard right away). Heat the oven to 200°F.
Step 5: Fry 2 steaks at a time, 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deep golden brown and crisp. Move to a rack on a sheet pan in the warm oven.
Step 6: GRAVY: Carefully pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of oil, keeping the browned bits in the pan. Turn the heat to medium.
Step 7: Whisk in the 3 tablespoons flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until it smells nutty and turns light tan.
Step 8: Slowly whisk in the milk. Simmer, whisking and scraping the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes until thick enough to coat a spoon. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Splash in more milk if it gets too thick.
Step 9: Serve the steaks smothered in gravy, with mashed potatoes and green beans.
Game plan
Dinner at 6:30 PM (country fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits):
- 5:15 PM: Peel and cube potatoes; put them on to boil (see Homemade Mashed Potatoes and Gravy).
- 5:30 PM: Bake biscuits. Set up the breading station.
- 5:45 PM: Bread the steaks, rest. Start green beans.
- 5:55 PM: Heat the oil. Oven to 200°F.
- 6:00 PM: Fry the steaks in two batches. Mash potatoes while the second batch fries.
- 6:15 PM: Make the gravy in the same skillet.
- 6:30 PM: Serve everything with gravy over the steaks and potatoes.
Swaps
- Chicken: Pound boneless chicken breasts to 1/2 inch and use the same method. Cook until 165°F inside.
- Gravy: Add 1/4 lb cooked breakfast sausage for a sausage gravy.
- Steak: Pound thin round steak with a meat mallet if you can’t find cube steak.
Tips
- Cube steak is already tenderized by the butcher’s machine. That’s what those little marks are.
- Make the gravy right away while the drippings are hot and browned. That’s where the flavor lives.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
Country fried steak is what happens when someone looks at a perfectly good steak and says, “What if we fried it like chicken and then poured gravy all over it?” And everyone said yes. Because it’s brilliant.
Cube steak is the right cut. It’s an inexpensive, tough cut that’s been run through a tenderizer, so it cooks quickly and stays tender. The double dip in flour, then egg and buttermilk, then flour again is what builds that thick, craggy crust. Letting the breaded steaks rest for a few minutes helps the coating stick, so it doesn’t peel off in the pan.
The best part happens after the frying. The browned bits stuck to the skillet are concentrated flavor. Whisk flour into the leftover oil, add milk, and those bits dissolve into the gravy. Lots of black pepper is essential; it’s what keeps the gravy from tasting flat. A plate of this is dinner and dessert and a nap, all in one.
HAM out.
Related recipes
AI illustrationCast iron / Dutch ovenDeep fryDinnerFull MealsSunday Fried Chicken
Buttermilk-brined chicken in a seasoned flour crust, fried in a cast iron skillet until crackly and golden. With the sides to make it a full Sunday spread.
105 min · serves 6 · Chicken
AI illustrationCast iron / Dutch ovenDinnerFull MealsChicken and Dumplings Supper
A from-scratch supper: a whole chicken simmered into rich broth, then finished with fluffy drop dumplings, plus a quick skillet of buttered green beans.
135 min · serves 6 · Chicken
AI illustrationCast iron / Dutch ovenDinnerEveryday ClassicsSmothered Pork Chops
Bone-in pork chops seared in cast iron, then simmered until tender in a rich onion and brown gravy made from scratch. Spoon it over rice.
60 min · serves 4 · Pork
Cooked this? Tell us how it went.
Loading reviews…