The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 1090

EXTRA-CRUNCHY
CHICKEN-FRIED
STEAK
WITHCREAMGRAVY
Once you’ve perfected crispy fried chicken, it’s only a
hop,skip,andajumptoTexas-stylechicken-friedsteak—
thatis,beefsteakthat’sfriedinthestyleoffriedchicken
andservedwithacreamy,pepperywhitegravy.Thekey
togreatchicken-friedsteakisstartingwiththerightcut.
WewentintocutsofbeefforsteaksindetailinChapter3
( s e ehere), but for now, we’re just looking for an
inexpensivecutwithplentyofbeefyflavor.Sincechickenfried steak both gets pounded thin (a technique that
tenderizesthemeat)andgoesforadunkinmybuttermilk
brine, tenderness won’t be an issue—we can pick a cut
basedonitsflavor,confidentthatit’llsoftenupbeforewe
fry it. Similarly, pounding and brining improve juiciness,
soevenwhenthesteakcomesoutmediumorwell-done,as
itdoeswhenit’sfried,it’llstillbeplentyjuicy.
My go-to cut for this is flap meat (also sold as sirloin
tips), though bottom round or top sirloin work will also
workwellifyoucan’tfindit.Chickenisnaturallytender,
steak needs a bit more help. Lightly scoring the meat
against the grain with a sharp knife will shorten long
musclefibers,resultinginamoretenderfinishedproduct.