It's a good thing recipes don't have expiration dates! This is a gluten-free chicken fried steak recipe that has been sitting on my desktop for months. It's a recipe that first caught my eye on A Feast for the Eyes; her recipe was inspired by The Pioneer Woman's. Now I'm giving you my gluten-free version!
My husband is also a huuuge chicken fried steak fan. He is very much a southern boy (well, now he is). But when I first met him, he seemed more like a city slicker--like myself. I'm a California native who still pretends she's going to see the ocean whenever she drives over any hill, especially when I'm hallucinating and dying of heat stroke in the middle of summer ;). He, on the other hand, just bought a pair of boots to wear to work this summer, has Texas paraphernalia sprinkled all over our Boston apartment, and still says ma'am (even when he's far from his homeland).
But he wasn't always like this, you see. The night I met my husband, he had an outfit on completely sponsored by Banana Republic, or so it seemed. He was also drenched in too much cologne. And I, being the outspoken girl that I was (the one he fell in love with ;) felt the need to tell him that he had on too much cologne. Ha! I was wearing an oversized college sweatshirt and Vans flip flops. I'm still the same girl, with more pairs of Vans than I know what to do with...but I have to say that Boston has changed my husband ;).
If you haven't been a reader for very long, I should probably let you know that my husband and I are only living in Boston because he's finishing up grad school here. 9 more months then we're heading back to the Lone Star State, where he's originally from. But my husband hates Boston. No, I mean he LOATHES it. And here's the funny thing that I've been hinting at: He didn't officially become a southern boy until he was transplanted to Boston! HAHA!
Now he will let everyone know that he's from Texas, and he'll say it with a huge smile on his face--and probably his boots and Stetson hat on, too (yes, he also has one of those now!). Some people say they're from LA, some folks say they're from New York, but ask any Texan where they're from and this is what they'll say: TEXAS. Not Austin, not Houston or San Antonio, but TEXAS. They're all very proud of their state :).
This post is dedicated to my favorite southern boy. I'm glad this chicken fried steak recipe reminds you of back home. I'll be sure to cook it up when it's the dead of winter and we're BOTH wearing our gorgeous long johns and crying about another dreaded Boston snowstorm! :D
Bowl 1:
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca
1/4 cup potato
1 tsp sea salt
black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Bowl 2:
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Makes enough for 1 lb of chicken fried steak (USE CUBED STEAKS!)
Get out your aprons, this is a messy job :).
Instructions:
First mix up all the ingredients in Bowl 1. Set aside, then mix up all the ingredients in bowl 2.
Dip the steaks in bowl 2, then coat them in the flour (in bowl 1). Do this one more time, to get a nice thick coating of flour on your cubed steaks. Double dipping is ok in this case :D.
If you've got a cast iron skillet, now's the time to use it. I discovered it's not just a weapon ;), it's also great for making chicken fried steak!
You'll want to fill it up with plenty of vegetable or canola oil--like a few cups (I say about 3-4 inches worth of oil). Let the oil get nice and hot, sprinkle a drop of water in there to make sure it's hot enough; if it sizzles, it's ready...then throw your steaks in, cook on one side then use tongs to turn them and cook on the other side. I cook them covered so that they cook on the inside. Cook until they're golden brown and crispy on the outside. Set on paper towels when they're cooked. Enjoy!
