Tom's Chicken Fried Steak

Down South this is Sunday-supper royalty, and the secret to a crust that actually shatters is the double dredge. The tenderized beef goes through flour, then an egg-and-evaporated-milk batter, then back into the flour, building those craggy ridges that crisp up like good fried chicken skin.

Temperature is everything when you fry. Hold the shortening at a steady medium-hot and don’t crowd the skillet. Pile in too many steaks at once and the fat cools, leaving you greasy, pale meat instead of golden crunch.

Then comes the part no Texan skips: the gravy. Pour off most of the fat but keep the browned bits clinging to the pan, whisk flour into the drippings to build a roux, then stream in the rest of the evaporated milk and water. Those scraped-up bits are pure flavor.

Pass the cream gravy at the table so everybody can flood their plate.

Pro Tips

• Let the dredged steaks rest a couple minutes before frying so the coating sets and clings instead of sloughing off in the oil.
• Test the fat with a pinch of flour; it should sizzle steadily. Too cool and the crust drinks up grease.
• Cook the flour in the drippings a full three minutes before adding liquid, or the gravy tastes raw and pasty.
• Hold finished steaks on a rack in a low oven, never stacked on a plate, so the crust stays crisp while you fry the rest.

Variations

• Use buttermilk in the batter in place of evaporated milk for extra tang and tenderness.
• Hit the gravy with a heavy hand of black pepper for true Texas ‘sawmill’ style.
• Add a pinch of cayenne or a few dashes of hot sauce to the egg batter for heat.