A Little Bit of Chicken Fried (Or is it Country Fried?)

I love old-fashioned, home-style food, especially fried food. When I was at home I loved nothing more than cooking up some good ol’ fried chicken and mashed potatoes for supper after a stressful day. So, imagine my pleasant surprise at discovering country-fried steak would be served for lunch today at one of the dining halls. This fact seriously made my day.

A friend and I made our way to the dining hall in time to beat the regular lunch rush and made our way to the hot meal station. The thought registered in my head that this was no country-fried steak but actually chicken-fried steak, nonetheless I was too excited about eating any kind of fried food that I pushed the realization aside. My friend, however, did not push her realization aside and asked for some chicken-fried steak. What she received was a confused reply from the server, “Uh, ma’am, this is beef not chicken.”

First, I want to clear up any confusion: neither a country-fried steak nor a chicken-fried steak is actually made from chicken. Generally speaking they are made from thinly pounded beef steaks, though my family is known to also use pork, called cubed steaks. The more confusing question is just what is the difference between country-fried and chicken-fried? After all, the two are oftentimes used interchangeably.

While both are considered “southern food,” some would say country-fried steak is associated more with the Deep South and chicken-fried steak is associated more with the southern Midwest. The major distinction, however, is the way in which the steaks are cooked.

When making country-fried steaks, the cook will dredge the meat in a mixture of flour and seasonings and fry it in just enough oil that the meat doesn’t stick to the pan. Oftentimes, the meat will be cooked in brown gravy during the final cooking stage so that it actually becomes part of the finished product. To most people, the key here is brown gravy. Whether the gravy has been cooked into the meat or is served on top it is usually brown.

For a truly country-fried steak recipe, check out Paula Dean's "Bubba's Country-Fried Steak and Gravy" at Food Network.com 

Like its name would suggest, chicken-fried steak is fried like chicken. This means a good egg coating along with the flour coating is used. The trademark of chicken-fried steak is its nice thick and crispy coating and the peppered white gravy served either on top or on the side. This is my personal favorite and therefore what I, and many others, think of when either “country-fried steak” or “chicken-fried steak” is said. Yes, I fall into the temptation of generalizing too.

One of my favorite websites and blogs to follow is "The Pioneer Woman." If you're looking for a step-by-step approach at learning to make chicken-fried steak check out her site. 

When my friend asked for chicken-fried steak she was using the technically correct term even if today’s society doesn’t acknowledge that. It’s an under discussed topic in my opinion, but now you know the difference. Either way you look at it, fried food is fried food, and fried food is tasty! Even fried food in a college dining hall is tasty, I might add.