Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken Fried Steak
Used Food Network's Alton Brown recipe and adjusted slightly....Really really really good...

4 1/2" thick round steaks
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. vegetable oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp thyme (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more to taste)
Hashbrowns or mashed potatoes to serve with steaks
Additional 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil for gravy and additional up to 3 Tbsp flour to thicken (below).

Get your potatoes on, whether they be frozen hash browns or mashed....get them going..unless they're instant mashed, you can do those last minute.

If the round steak is not in 1/2 inch cuts, fillet them to 1/2 inch steaks with the grain. Season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Place the 1 cup flour in a paper plate or pie pan. Dredge the meat into the flour on both sides. Then tenderize them with a fork/mallet combination (poke then beat the living crap outta them) or a needle tenderizer (which I wish I had.) After tenderizing, dredge the meat again in flour, then egg, then flour again. Do all the steaks and set aside, let them set up for at least 10 minutes (15 mins is better.)

Preheat your oven to 250. Warm the serving plates if you want at this time. Set up a wire rack over a cookie sheet to drain the cooked steaks on.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat until very warm (shimmering). Fry the meat in batches, two or three at a time without crowding them up. You will fry them between 3 and 4 minutes per side, getting the outside crispy and the inside cooked through. When they are done, transfer to the rack and place in the oven to keep warm until ready to serve.

Add another tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pan along with any fat and scraps left.  When all the meat is done. Over medium heat add additional flour, as needed. Whisk in, deglazing the pan. then add 2 cups chicken broth and whisk to combine the drippings/flour. whisk to smooth and add the other 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil to thicken. Add milk and thyme and cayenne. Taste and season as neede with thyme, cayenne, black pepper, and salt. If the gravy is too thin, use a cold water/corn starch mix to thicken.

Serve gravy over the potatoes and the meat.