My mother is from Texas so I grew up on Southern Cooking. One of my favorite meals
is my mom’s Chicken Fried Steak.
2 to 3 pounds of cubed steak (4 to 6 ounce portions work well) (available at your local meat market)
1 cup of milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons Michael’s Special Seasoning (available at your local butcher shop)
4 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
2 Tablespoons water
Put Michael’s special seasoning in a gallon size plastic bag. Add the flour and shake it until it is blended. Put 1 cup of milk in a pie pan. Take the cubed steak and shake in the bag. Then take the coated cubed steak and moisten both sides in the milk. Then take 
the cubed steak and put it into the flour mixture a second time. Repeat until all of the steak is coated in this manner. Place 2 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil in a 12 inch skillet. Turn on high until the oil is hot. Turn the burner to medium. Put enough steak into the skillet that it fits comfortably, and fry on both sides (approximately 45 seconds per side). When the steak is browned, remove it from the frying pan. Add an additional Tablespoon of Sunflower Oil to the skillet before you put in the next batch of steaks to be fried. Continue until all of the steaks have been browned. Take a roaster pan, and put 2 Tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pan. Take a small salad plate 
and invert it in the bottom of the roaster pan. This allows the meat to steam without sitting in the water. Place the browned steaks on the saucer. Put the lid on the roaster pan.
Heat the oven to 280 degrees and place the roaster pan with steaks in the oven and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the lid from the roaster pan and cook an additional 10 minutes.
While the steaks are cooking make the Smashed Red-skinned potatoes to go with them. Wash and cube 6 Red-Skinned Potatoes. Place in a small sauce pan, and cover with water. Boil the potatoes for 40 minutes. When fork tender, drain the potatoes, add 3 Tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of milk and mash with a hand masher.
I also take the drippings from the skillet and mix with well blended flour and milk (approx 2 Tablespoons of flour and 1/2 cup of milk) until you get Chicken Fried Steak Gravy to put over the Smashed Red-skinned potatoes. Cook the gravy mixture over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens. Turn the heat down to simmer. You may need to add 1 teaspoon of beef starter soup mix dissolved in 6 oz. of boiling water to thin down the gravy, and intensify the beef flavor.
I love to have cantaloupe with this meal. When I was small, every time we would have a
meal I would ask my mom if this was a real southern meal. My mom used to laugh about that. Of course, you have to have sweetened tea with this meal.
What is your favorite “Southern Meal”? I would love to hear from you.
Until next time…From our Butcher Block to your Table.
