FOAS....not shuddering at all LOL! Very nice photo but I'm wondering how a lobster and steak became chicken.

I'd love to try any part of your dinner, especially the lobster and chickpeas.....is that with spinach?

SharonCb

To stay with the theme, better it should be chickweed rather than spinach. :D

Funny idea! But I would think you are right... probably mot the best flavor combination LOLOLOL!.

Alexa

What a hoot, looks good to me. I've never made chicken fried steak, I think it's an American thing. Care to share the recipe/method.

Hey.....surf and turf....works for me!

SharonCb -
A chicken lobster is a lobster that weighs a lb. or less .

Chase,
Chicken fried steak is NOT something you want the recipe for. Believe me, I live in Texas and am surrounded by places that serve chicken fried steak with white gooey gravy on top. The gourmets also add a healthy dab of ketchup.
For an idea of how it tastes, imagine corrugated cardboard with a heavy coating, topped by Elmer's glue. There you have it!

I'm sure if chicken fried steak was was cliche fare at every greasy bar/diner around here I'd have a reaction like marlingardner's. But it's not, and never having eaten chicken fried steak before last night I will say we enjoyed it very much. I used CI's recipe:

Chicken Fried Steak
Serves 6
Published February 1, 2005

Getting the initial oil temperature to 375 degrees is key to the success of this recipe. An instant-read thermometer with a high upper range is perfect for checking the temperature; a clip-on candy/deep-fry thermometer is also fine. If your Dutch oven measures 11 inches across (as ours does), you will need to fry the steaks in two batches.

Ingredients

Steak:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
6 cube steaks , about 5 ounces each, pounded to 1/3 inch thickness
4 - 5 cups peanut oil

Cream Gravy:
1 medium onion , minced
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
cayenne pepper

Instructions:

1. For the steaks: Measure the flour, 5 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and cayenne into a large shallow dish. In a second large shallow dish, beat the egg, baking powder, and baking soda; stir in the buttermilk (the mixture will bubble and foam).

2. Set a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Pat the steaks dry with paper towels and sprinkle each side with salt and pepper to taste. Drop the steaks into the flour and shake the pan to coat. Shake excess flour from each steak, then, using tongs, dip the steaks into the egg mixture, turning to coat well and allowing the excess to drip off. Coat the steaks with flour again, shake off the excess, and place them on the wire rack.

3. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position, set a second wire rack over a second rimmed baking sheet, and place the sheet on the oven rack; heat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a large plate with a double layer of paper towels. Meanwhile, heat 1 inch of oil in a large (11-inch diameter) Dutch oven over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. Place three steaks in the oil and fry, turning once, until deep golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes (oil temperature will drop to around 335 degrees). Transfer the steaks to the paper towel-lined plate to drain, then transfer them to the wire rack in the oven. Bring the oil back to 375 degrees and repeat the cooking and draining process (use fresh paper towels) with the three remaining steaks.

4. For the gravy: Carefully pour the hot oil through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot. Return the browned bits from the strainer along with 2 tablespoons of frying oil back to the Dutch oven. Turn the heat to medium, add the onion and thyme, and cook until the onion has softened and is beginning to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the flour to the pan and stir until well combined and starting to dissolve, about 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Whisk in the milk, salt, pepper, and cayenne; bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until thickened (gravy should have a loose consistencyit will thicken as it cools), about 5 minutes.

5. Transfer the chicken-fried steaks to individual plates. Spoon a generous amount of gravy over each steak. Serve immediately, placing any remaining gravy in a small bowl.

marlingardener, I've with you on the chicken fried steak, LOL, but mostly because I like beef rare and that just doesn't happen. I'd eat it, though, just to get to the lobster and the chickpeas!

Ashley loves it, though, with a big side of mashed potatoes and that white gravy over everything.

Annie

Another part of the country that doesn't have Chicken Fried Steak readily available... we love it once or twice a year. I am gong to C&P the recipe above, I wasn't thrilled with the last one I tried.

Thansk for posting it!

Alexa

Sounds like something I would love , especially with that sauce.

Thanks "Stumpy" LOL

I'd be very happy with that Chicken Lobster. Great dinner.

Ann

Thanks for the explanation Bostonpat....

I guess I'll just have the lobster and chickpeas too and skip the steak and gravy, although it sounds like something my DH would love, especially if the steaks were pork escalopes.

SharonCb

Not ALL chicken fried steak is as marlingardener describes it.
I live in Texas, too. But much further south.

Yes, it is a staple on most menus here. But there are a number of ways to prepare it, beginning with the cut of meat used. We even have one local restaurant that uses rib eye.

And it is a well known fact that not everyone in this world likes (or dislikes) the same things.

Thank you for posting that recipe, FOAS. I would suggest, though, that the black pepper be replaced with white pepper. Black pepper in a white cream gravy always reminds me of fly specks. ;>)

Rusty

Geez, thanks rusty. I'm never going to be able to look at that white cream gravy or the cream sausage gravy and not think of fly specks. LOLOLOL

Annie

Marlingardener, you need to come to Chicago then for some good CFS. We make a gravy that is far removed from Elmers glue.

(big grin) Sorry, Annie, didn't mean to ruin anyone's appetite.
But that is what I think if. (still grinning)
Plus, I like the flavor of white pepper much better in milder flavored dishes.
Sausage gravy can 'handle' the black pepper okay.
At least down here it can.
I think most of the sausage sold here is a little spicier than that offered up there.

Rusty