Simply Satisfying Country Fried Steak Recipe
When you want delicious comfort food, try this simple and fast country fried steak recipe! The crispy breading is perfectly seasoned and the beef is juicy. It’s perfect for busy weeknights when you want to get a meal on the table in under 30 minutes.
Sometimes you just need comfort food. I don’t fry food very often, but I make an exception for juicy and crispy country fried steak.
There’s not much of a difference between chicken fried steak and country fried steak, in my opinion. Only slight differences in the gravy as best I can tell.
My kids and I don’t like gravy but I make it for my sweet husband. I’ll share how easy it is to make gravy to top your country fried steak, too!
Simple and Delicious Country Fried Steak Recipe
Want to get a comforting lunch or dinner on the table in under 30 minutes? This country fried steak with gravy recipe is sure to be a hit with your family!
Ingredients
Ground beef – You will need one pound of ground beef for this recipe. If you’re feeding a crowd, you can double or triple the recipe.
Flour – Use any flour that you have on hand. I used spelt flour but all purpose and freshly milled flour works, too.
Sea salt – You’ll need your favorite kosher sea salt. I prefer fine Redmond real salt which is always kosher, but any sea salt will do.
Pepper – Freshly ground black pepper adds a bit of heat to the patties.
Seasoned salt – Adding some seasoned salt gives more spice to your country fried steak. I share how to make your own seasoned salt in this post! It’s very easy!! You can adapt the recipe to add just the right amount of heat that you and your family love.
Milk – Use whole milk to coat your beef patties and make the gravy.
Eggs – Adding a couple of eggs to your milk will make your breading stick in a thick and delicious way!
Olive oil – Fry your country fried steaks in a bit of good olive oil. It’s one of the healthiest oils you can keep in your cupboard.
Butter – Some real butter in your skillet will give your country fried steaks a golden brown color and more delicious flavor.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Tools You May Need
Cast iron skillet – The only skillets I have are cast iron. They’re naturally nonstick and last forever when you take care of them!
Farm Cook Tip: Cast iron skillets distribute heat and hold in heat better than other skillets. They also make your patties crispier!
Plate and Bowl – For coating and dunking your beef patties.
Measuring cups and spoons
Platter lined with a towel or paper towels – For draining your country fried steaks.
Fork
Spatula
Wire whisk
How to Make Country Fried Steak
I love simple, no-fuss recipes. These country fried steaks are simple, fast to make on the stove, and are a family favorite.
This recipe makes six country fried steaks from one pound of ground beef. You can double the recipe, if necessary.
First, get out your ground beef and 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of pepper, and 2 teaspoons of seasoned salt. Shape six beef patties and season both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Then set aside on a separate plate.
Next, crack two eggs open in a separate bowl and add a cup of milk. Use a fork or wire whisk to mix it together well. Then set the bowl aside.
On a separate plate, combine a cup of flour and the remaining salt, pepper, and seasoned salt. Mix it together with a fork to distribute the spices evenly. This is your dredge (a.k.a. “coating for food using dry ingredients”)
Heat your cast iron skillet over medium-low heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter. There should be enough oil and butter to coat the entire inside of your skillet.
Next, put one of your beef patties into the flour mixture and coat both sides evenly with flour.
Then put the flour-coated beef patty into your milk and egg mixture to wet down both sides. Next, put it back into the flour mixture for a second coating of flour and spices on both sides.
Once your beef patty is coated a second time with seasoned flour, set it carefully into your cast iron skillet with the hot oil and butter. Be careful not to get splashed.
Continue the process until your skillet is full of country fried steaks but not too full. The steaks shouldn’t be so close that they touch each other.
Cook the country fried steaks for roughly 3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.
When the country fried steaks are golden and thoroughly cooked, scoop them out and drain them on a paper towel-lined platter to drain.
Six country fried steaks should be cooked to perfection within 12 minutes, depending on the size of your skillet! You can’t hardly beat that.
Farm Cook Tip: Don’t throw out your unused egg and milk mixture if you have dogs, cats, or chickens. It’s perfectly fine and healthy for them to drink!
Make Gravy for Your Country Fried Steak
When you are done making your country fried steaks, you will have a skillet with a fair amount of oil, butter, grease, and other juices. We don’t need all that liquid, so pour most of it into a separate jar or container, but reserve about 1 tablespoon in your skillet.
Farm Cook Tip: You can save your fat in the freezer (for long term) or refrigerator (for short term). In the winter, coat a pinecone in the leftover fat and roll it around in a bowl of bird seed so that the songbirds in winter have a healthy food source!
Next, add enough of the seasoned flour mixture to the skillet to soak up the liquid and form a paste. Heat your skillet over low or medium-low heat for a couple of minutes to cook the flour and stir constantly with a wire whisk.
Then slowly add the remaining one cup of milk to your skillet as you stir.
Continue stirring and scraping your skillet until the flour paste is dissolved in the milk. The gravy will thicken quickly as it heats up, so keep stirring and scraping.
Then take the skillet off the heat when your gravy reaches your desired thickness. It’s all done in a matter of a few short minutes.
Gravy Tip: If you cook your gravy too long and it’s too thick, simply add more milk to thin it out, and cook it on low or medium-low heat until it thickens again. It’s foolproof; just don’t burn the gravy.
Farm Cook Tip: You can give your unused seasoned flour to your chickens if you have them!
Side Dishes
Country fried steak pairs well with mashed potatoes, green vegetables, and either a roll or biscuit. In the South, we like our biscuits with pretty much any meal.
Potatoes are boiled and mashed in 15 minutes, and green vegetables don’t take that long to cook. Assuming you have some biscuits leftover from breakfast, it’s quick to get this comfort meal on the table!
Recipe Card
Simple and Satisfying Country Fried Steak
Equipment
- cast iron skillet
- plate and bowl (for breading and dredging)
- measuring cups and spoons
- platter lined with towel or paper towels (for draining)
- fork
- spatula
- wire whisk
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp seasoned salt
- 2 cups milk, divided
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Form 6 beef patties and season both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of milk and 2 eggs. On a separate plate, use a fork to mix together the flour and remaining salt, pepper, and seasoned salt. The flour mixture should cover the plate evenly.
- Heat a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat, and add the olive oil and butter. It should coat the entire bottom of the skillet.
- Take one of the beef patties, put it into the flour mixture to coat the top and bottom evenly. Then dunk the patty into the bowl with the milk mixture. Put the patty back into the flour mixture to coat the top and bottom again, and set it into the skillet to cook. Repeat until you fill up your skillet.
- Cook the country fried steaks for about 3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.
- Set the cooked country fried steaks onto a separate platter lined with a towel or paper towel to drain. Repeat the process until all the country fried steaks are cooked.
Making Gravy
- Pour out most of the fat and oil from the cast iron skillet, but leave about 1 tablespoon remaining. Heat your skillet on low to medium-low heat.
- Sprinkle unused seasoned flour mixture into your skillet one tablespoon at a time until it makes a paste. Use your spatula to scrape and smooth the paste and cook the flour for a minute or two.
- Then add the remaining 1 cup of milk slowly and scrape the skillet. Continue stirring until the milk and flour mixture are well combined. Keep stirring while it heats up and thickens, and take the skillet off the heat when the gravy is to your desired thickness. This is done in a matter of minutes, so keep a close watch on your gravy.
- If you cook your gravy too long and it gets too thick, simply add more milk to thin it out, and cook until it thickens again.
Storage
Store any leftover country fried steak in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the gravy separately.
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