Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Ingredients

• 4 beef cube steaks, about 6 oz each
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 4 cups vegetable oil or shortening, for frying
• 1/4 cup plain flour, for the gravy
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 tsp fine salt, for the gravy
• 1 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, for the gravy

Before you cook

• Pat the cube steaks dry with kitchen paper.
• Pound the steaks with the flat side of a mallet until they are an even quarter inch thick.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne and garlic powder together in a wide dish.
• Whisk the eggs, buttermilk and hot sauce together in a second wide dish.
• Set a wire rack over a baking tray beside the stove.

Steps

1. Press one steak into the seasoned flour and coat it on both sides.
2. Dip the floured steak into the buttermilk mixture and let the excess drip off.
3. Press the steak back into the flour a second time, pushing hard so the coating grips.
4. Set the coated steak on the rack and repeat with the remaining three.
5. Leave the steaks to rest for 10 minutes so the crust hydrates and sticks.
6. Pour the oil into a large heavy skillet to a depth of half an inch and heat it to 340F.
7. Lower two steaks into the oil and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside is deep gold.
8. Turn the steaks with tongs and fry them for another 3 minutes.
9. Lift the steaks onto a clean rack and fry the remaining two the same way.
10. Pour off all but 1/4 cup of the fat, leaving the browned bits in the skillet.
11. Sprinkle the 1/4 cup of flour into the hot fat and whisk it over medium heat for 2 minutes.
12. Pour in the milk in a steady stream, whisking constantly, and scrape the brown bits loose.
13. Simmer the gravy for 5 minutes, whisking, until it thickly coats a spoon.
14. Season the gravy with the salt and a heavy hand of coarse black pepper.
15. Set each steak on a warm plate and ladle the gravy over the top.