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Chicken Fried Steak is a food preparation associated with soul food and Southern U.S. cuisine, particularly Texas. It is a piece of beef steak, coated and fried as if it were a piece of fried chicken.Chicken fried steak is prepared by taking a thin cut of beef steak and tenderizing it by pounding. It is then either immersed in batter or dredged in flour to which salt, pepper, and often other seasonings, have been added. After this, the steak is skillet-fried or, less commonly, deep-fried. The frying medium has traditionally been butter, lard, or other shortening, but in recent years health concerns have led most cooks to substitute vegetable oil.The cuts of steak used for chicken fried steak are usually the less expensive, less desirable ones, such as chuck steak, round steak, and occasionally flank steak. The method is seldom used for higher-quality cuts such as rib-eye or sirloin, since the results are little better than those achieved with lesser cuts, at greater expense. The method is also sometimes used for chopped, ground, or especially cube steak. It is traditionally served for lunch or dinner with cream gravy, mashed potatoes and vegetables, or at breakfast with eggs, fried potatoes, and biscuits.The precise origins of the dish are unclear but many sources attribute its development to German and Austrian immigrants to Texas in the nineteenth century who brought recipes for the classic German dish wiener schnitzel. Variants are common, with chicken fried chicken having appeared on many menus substituting a boneless chicken breast for the steak. Notably, chicken fried chicken is very different from fried chicken, even fried chicken made with boneless chicken breasts[citation needed]. Another variant, which has been known to confuse some diners, is steak fried chicken, substituting the steak for chicken and the chicken for steak.Profile modified by: The Gravy Myspace Profile Editor
