For the Chicken Fried Steak

Place each piece of steak between two pieces of plastic wrap, parchment paper, or wax paper. Using a meat mallet, pound the steak until it is at least 1/4 inch thin. Lightly sprinkle the steaks with salt. Cover and set aside the steaks in the fridge. The cubed steak comes tenderized, but we still want to pound it until thin.

Preheat the oven to a warming setting or 225°F and prepare your breading station. You need three shallow dishes. One for cornstarch, one for wet, and one for the flour mix. Pour cornstarch into one dish. In the second dish, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Then whisk the buttermilk until combined.

In the last dish, whisk together the all-purpose flour, salt, ground black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne powder, and baking powder.

Remove tenderized steaks from the fridge. Pat dry with a towel to get ready for the breading process. Working left to right, you will dredge the steak in cornstarch, then wet mixture, and finish in the flour mixture. You will want to keep one hand for the dry mixtures and one for the wet. Otherwise, your hands will get very sticky and messy.

Work with one steak at a time. Dredge it in the cornstarch, making sure it is fully coated. Flip the steak, coat the other side, and shake off any excess. Then dip the steak into the wet mixture, coating it on both sides. Lift the steak and shake off the excess. Finally, dredge the steak into the flour mixture. Again, ensure it is fully coated, flip the steak, coat the other side, and shake off any excess.

Place the breaded steak on a wire rack or a clean plate, then repeat with the remaining pieces (cornstarch/wet mixture/flour mixture). Cover the breaded steak and rest in the fridge for 15 to 30 minutes.

While the steaks are resting, you can start heating the vegetable oil in a large skillet. You want the oil about 1/4 inch deep to shallow fry the steaks. The oil should reach 350°F, which takes about 10 - 15 minutes. You can use a thermometer or check my notes for simple tricks.

When the oil is ready, remove the breaded steaks from the fridge. You will notice it's slightly wet, or the breading looks like dough - that is okay.

Carefully place one steak into the oil. It should instantly start sizzling. (If not, the oil is not hot enough. If it is smoking or has a burning smell, the oil is too hot).

Cook the steak for about 2 minutes until it's golden brown and crisp. Flip the steak, and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the chicken fried steak and place it on a wire cooling rack. If there is room, you can cook two steaks at a time but do not overcrowd the pan. Too many steaks will cause the oil temperature to drop, and it will not cook the steaks properly.

Repeat the process with the remaining pieces. Place the chicken fried steak plate in the oven to stay warm. Turn off the heat, and do not throw away the grease/oil. Continue to the beer gravy steps.

For the Beer Gravy

Pour the grease into a heatproof bowl. Do not clean the skillet! You want the leftover bits of pan drippings.

Measure 1/4 cup of the grease and pour it back into the skillet. Add the butter and turn the heat on medium.

Add flour and constantly whisk the mixture until it turns light brown, about 1 - 2 minutes.

Slowly whisk in the beer, milk, and cream. Add coarsely ground black pepper and salt.

Reduce to a simmer and cook until the beer gravy is smooth and thickened about 5 - 7 minutes. You want to stir occasionally to emulsify the gravy and keep it smooth.

Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Serve the crispy Texas Chicken Fried Steak over mashed potatoes, topped with Beer Gravy and your choice of veggies. Enjoy!