‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond Chicken Fried Steak Medallions
The Pioneer Woman put a new spin on an old recipe. Ree Drummond showed home cooks how to make chicken fried steak medallions. Here’s how to make this mouth-watering meal.
Ree Drummond’s chicken fried steak medallions
When it comes to Drummond’s cookbook recipes, she calls her chicken fried steak “the biggest classic of all.” She says some people wonder where the chicken is when they first eat this meal. However, Drummond clarifies that chicken fried steak is simply steak that’s breaded like chicken.
Drummond says there isn’t much you can do to make chicken fried steak better than the original. However, one change she made to this recipe was to make chicken fried steak medallions instead of large pieces of meat. She also adds mini biscuits.
Preparing the seasoned flour
Drummond starts by making the seasoned flour for the chicken fried steak. She adds salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper to the flour. Drummond says whenever you’re seasoning flour for chicken fried steak or any breading, it’s important to add enough salt. She makes sure to add seasoned salt to the flour mixture.
Drummond describes chicken fried steak as the “ultimate comfort food.” She says this is a very rich meal, so you might not want to eat it too often. “It’s definitely one of those things you can only eat about once every three months because it’s very filling,” jokes Drummond on The Pioneer Woman show. “But it’s just a country classic.”
Preparing the cubed steak
For the next step, Drummond seasons the meat with salt and pepper on both sides. She uses cubed steak for the chicken fried steak medallions. “Cubed steak is round steak that has been tenderized twice,” says Drummond. “It goes through the tenderizer and then you turn it and tenderize it again.”
Drummond says you can buy steak that has already been tenderized at the supermarket. “Instead of big, huge pieces, I cut these cute little medallions,” says Drummond.
Breading the meat
Next, Drummond breads the cubed steak. She sets up an assembly line so that it’s easier to prepare the dish. She starts by placing the meat into the flour mixture, then she dunks it into an egg and milk mixture. Then, she puts the meat back into the flour mixture.
Drummond says placing the meat into the flour mixture twice is what helps create the thick breading on the steak. “It is a very messy, messy process,” says Drummond. “But you just have to embrace it and appreciate.”
Preparing the chicken fried steak medallions
Next, Drummond places the cubed steak into a large skillet of hot vegetable oil and butter. She explains why she chose to mix vegetable oil with butter.
“That allows the oil to get a little bit hotter without smoking up the place,” says Drummond. “If it was all butter, it would be smoky and black in here within two seconds.” Drummond fries the steak for roughly two minutes per side.
Preparing the gravy
Drummond says gravy is an important part of this recipe. She makes her gravy by pouring out some of the pan drippings. Then, she sprinkles some flour in the pan and begins whisking it around. She says it’s important to have enough flour to turn the mixture into a paste.
Drummond cooks the mixture for one to two minutes until the color gets deeper. Then she adds cold milk and continues whisking the mixture until it thins out. For flavor, she adds salt and pepper. You can find the ingredients list and directions on the Food Network website.
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