This 4th of July holiday weekend was epic! We had the blessing of both sides of the family together for America's birthday this year, and it was beyond awesome! Casey's Mom and our nephew Nathan came out from Oregon to be with us, and we were also able to be with my parents and both my sisters and their families. Freedom and family...two of my favorite treasures! We enjoyed all the traditional joys of the holiday...Old Glory waving, Fireworks, and a little late night swimming...the stress just washed away, as we basked in the love of God, Country, and Family...
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| Forever in peace may she wave.... |
But of course...there was food...delicious, amazing, down-home "countrified" cooking! My mother-in-law is originally from Oklahoma, and no one makes comfort food like she does! How does this menu sound?
Chicken/Country fried (a.k.a. "Countrified") steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, sweet tea, and watermelon and strawberries for dessert!!
Heaven? I know, right?! Where's my front porch swing?
By the way...did you know there is a difference between "chicken-fried" steak and "country-fried" steak? According to Food Network: "country-fried steak is flour-dusted and usually served with brown gravy and onions, chicken-fried steak is breaded with eggs and served with cream gravy." So, this is neither...IT'S COUNTRIFIED STEAK Y'ALL!
Here is her special step-by-step recipe, complete with photos! I hope y'all enjoy this as much as we did! Ok...one last thing...this is a Southern Mama's recipe...passed down from her Mama and her Grand-Mama...so there are no measurements. Just put on your apron, and embrace your inner Mason-Dixon line, and sip a little sweet tea while you listen to some George Strait.
GRAMMY'S "COUNTRIFIED" STEAK DINNER
Cube Steak (or round steak, tenderized) -- make sure you get 1 per person and at least 1 extra each for the menfolk
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Oil (Bacon fat, lard, shortening, peanut oil, refined coconut oil, etc.--something with a high smoke point)
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Canned evaporated milk
2% or Whole milk
Directions:
1. Heat frying pan/cast iron skillet with oil and melt on Medium heat while preparing the meat.
2. Cover a large baking sheet with foil and place in oven on Warm, waiting for freshly cooked steaks.
3. Get your cube steak unwrapped and ready to go. If your meat comes in foam packing trays, use those, nestled in plastic grocery sacks for dredging and seasoning, so it can catch the excess flour, etc., and you'll thank yourself for not making a big mess!
4. Place some flour in an empty foam tray (the one inside the grocery bag) and begin to dredge one steak at a time with flour, patting it inside the tenderized valleys, until a fine yet thorough dusting covers the meat. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. DON'T THROW THE LEFTOVER FLOUR/MEAT CRUMBLES/SEASONINGS MIX AWAY!!!
5. Turn heat up to Medium-High, and place steaks in the frying pan and cook until the bottom is browned and edges are crusty. Don't over-crowd the skillet. Leave a little space between each steak, so that the steaks crisp us and fry, otherwise they'll steam in the pan, instead.
6. Flip steaks, adding more oil as needed. Continue cooking on side 2. If blood/juices being to pool on top of already cooked side (side 1), turn steaks again once bottom (side 2) is browned. Continue this process until no blood remains.
7. Turn down heat to medium and continue cooking until no bloody juice remains when poked with a fork.
8. Pull steaks off heat and place on heated baking sheet in oven.
9. Continue this process until all steaks have been cooked and are in the oven staying warm.
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Regular AP flour |
Now for the Gravy....
It's time to make the roux.
1. Add more grease/oil until you have a total of a few tablespoons accumulated. Let it melt until it's shimmery and hot on Medium-High heat.
2. Sprinkle the flour/meat crumbles/seasoning mixture in the the grease, adding more flour as needed until the grease and flour mixture makes a paste. Cook, stirring semi-continuously. Don't add the milk yet.
3. My mother-in-law tells me that one big mistake people make in their gravy is adding the milk too soon...she says you've got to babysit, and brown that roux until it's a nice lovely tannish-brown...kind of close to peanut butter, but not quite.
4. Add 1-2 cans of evaporated (not sweetened condensed) milk, depending on how much gravy you want to make. 2 cans makes it awfully rich-tasting, so we stick with about 1 1/2 cans of canned milk and save the rest for the mashed potatoes.
5. Stir the milk in, adding more milk from the jug, until you get a nice thinned-out consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking over Medium-Low heat to thicken and meld flavors. My mother-in-law tells me that a good rich gravy should take at least 15-20 minutes of cook time. Don't rush it.
Did you make mashed potatoes? Hope so! This is not a diet meal!
For our big family dinner, we made 10 pounds of potatoes--we always use 50% Yukon Gold and 50% Russet potatoes...in our opinion, that combo makes the best structure and taste!
Peel, cut, and boil them taters. Drain thoroughly and add the pot back on the same burner, but with the heat off. Add lots of butter, some canned milk, some milk from the jug, and salt and pepper. You can add a little chicken broth if you want, too. Up to you...
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| 50/50 Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes |
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| True mashed--NOT whipped--potatoes! |
To keep it carby, we just went all the way with some hot buttered sweet corn, too. If you want to get healthy, you can add something *not* in the brown/tan/yellow spectrum...something like a salad or greens, perhaps!
~Bless Your Heart and Happy Independence from our front porch to yours--and don't forget the iced sweet tea!
