Recipe(tried): Granny's Chicken Fried Steak

GRANNY'S CHICKEN FRIED STEAK

The only method I have ever used to make Sunday special chicken fried steak is to copy my Granny precisely while she worked; me, sitting outta the way on her bright yellow kitchen chair with it's hidden stepping stool underneath, furiously taking notes as I watched and listened to her muttering quietly to herself that, "God don't give enough hours in a day to make Sunday dinner the way it needs to be made," as she flew about the kitchen like someone who'd just discovered they are 40 minutes behind on their house-cleaning chores and "Lordy, Lordy, them church ladies are due at the backdoor any minute."

She'd get 2 pounds of round steak from the store and bring it home and on waxed paper, and lay the steaks out "to dry" (cause breading won't stick to wet meat). She dusted the steaks (both sides), with cayenne pepper garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper, and cut the steak into smaller portions. She'd cover the meat with another sheet of waxed paper and pound the flavorings into the steak all the while thinning and tenderizing the tough cuts of meat using an unopened can of green beans for the hardest work. She'd pour vegetable oil up to about 1/2 up the side of a cast iron skillet and heat it to 350 degrees F.

In a huge pickling crock she'd measure out 3 cups flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons pepper, and 1 tablespoon seasoned salt and then when the oil temp was right, she'd take each piece of meat and press it into the flour mixture as hard as her arthritic, knuckled hands would perform that culinary task that she expected of them. (Humming all the while as she worked to either Patsy Cline or Southern Gospel music.)

Lowering each piece into the bubbling fat she'd warn that me..."you gotta listen to the pan, it knows when it's ready to go". As each piece browned to perfection, she'd dry them on brown paper bags from the store and then pat each piece dry from standing fat with a paper towel.

The end result is one of those culinary down-home masterpieces that only great granny's could make. My attempts aren't the real thing, but they are as near perfect as I could duplicate in her honor. Thanks for teaching your grandson, a little boy growing up with cerebral palsy and braces to love cooking. I can cook with the best of them...no braces needed. I love you Granny!

Enjoy the recipe everyone!!!