Chicken fried steak or country fried steak is a food preparation associated with soul food and Southern U.S. cuisine, particularly Texas. It is a piece of beef steak, coated and fried as if it were a piece of fried chicken.

Chicken fried steak is prepared by taking a cut of beef steak and either immersing it in batter or perhaps shaking it in flour, generally flour to which salt and pepper have been added. After this the steak is either deep-fried, or, more commonly, skillet fried. The frying medium is traditionally butter or lard, however in recent years health concerns have cause some cooks to switch to vegetable oil.

The cuts of steak used for chicken fried steak are usually less expensive, less desirable cuts such as chuck steak and flank steak, and occassionally round steak. This method is seldom used for higher quality cuts of steak such as rib-eye or sirloin, since the results are very similar to those achieved with lesser cuts and the expense is far greater. The method is also sometimes used for chopped, ground, or especially cubed steak. It is traditionally served with cream gravy and generally mashed potatoes and other vegetables.

In the Southern regions where the dish developed, "country fried steak" is preferred as the name, with "chicken fried steak" being more common in non-Southern regions of the U.S.

See also

• Wiener schnitzel