Chicken Fried Steak

Preparation time:
1 hour 45 minutes.

Portions: 4

Difficulty: Media

Place saran wrap over each cube steak and use the rough end of a meat tenderizer to pound it thin, about ½ inch thick or so. This really makes a nice difference in the consistency of the meat even though cube steak has already been tenderized.
Pat the steaks completely dry. Combine the marinade ingredients in a large casserole dish.
Cover and marinate the steaks in the fridge for 1-2 hours, or overnight. (The longer the better.)
Combine breading ingredients. Generously coat each steak just before you fry it.
Add enough oil to cover the steak by 1/3 and heat it to 350° F. (Make sure it’s properly preheated or the breading will fall off.)
Cook the steaks in batches of 2, leaving room around each. Fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Use kitchen tongs to carefully check the bottom and flip.
Remove and transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow excess oil to drip out from the bottom. This keeps the bottom nice and crispy.
Once all the steaks are fried, keep them warm in a 200° F oven while you prepare the gravy.

Transfer the pan drippings into a small heat-proof bowl. Don’t clean the pan.
Allow the black flecks to fall to the bottom and skim 3 tablespoons of clean oil off the top. Set aside.
Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour for 1 minute to cook off the raw flour taste.
Add the oil drippings and minced garlic. cook for 1 minute.
Add the seasonings, and then the chicken broth in splashes, stirring continuously.
Add milk and half and half in splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Let it simmer and thicken until desired consistency is obtained.

½ cup milk + 1 ½ cups sour cream
4 tablespoons milk + enough plain yogurt to make 2 cups.
2 tablespoon white vinegar + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
2 tablespoon lemon juice + enough milk to make 2 cups. Let sit for 10 minutes. It'll look curdled. Stir to combine.