Chicken fried steak

Chicken fried steak, served with mashed potatoes (topped with cream gravy) and baked beans
Origin
Alternative name(s)	Country fried steak, pan-fried steak
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	Southern United States
Creator(s)	Multiple claims
Details
Course	Main course
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredient(s)	Tenderized cube steak, flour

Lamesa, Texas, hosts an annual chicken-fried steak celebration.

Chicken fried steak (also known as pan-fried steak,^[1] CFS or country fried steak) is a dish consisting of a piece of steak (tenderized cube steak) coated with seasoned flour and pan-fried. It is associated with Southern cuisine. Its name may be due to the similarity in preparation styles between chicken fried steak and fried chicken.

Chicken fried steak resembles the Austrian dish Wiener Schnitzel (known in Latin American cuisine as milanesa), a tenderized veal or pork cutlet, coated with flour, eggs, and bread crumbs, and then fried. It is also similar to the recipe for Scottish collops.^[1]

History[link]

The precise origins of the dish are unclear, but many sources attribute its development to German and Austrian immigrants to Texas in the 19th century, who brought recipes for Wiener Schnitzel from Europe to the USA.^[1] Lamesa, the seat of Dawson County on the Texas South Plains, claims to be the birthplace of chicken fried steak, and hosts an annual celebration accordingly.^[2] John "White Gravy" Neutzling of Bandera in the Texas Hill Country also claims to have invented the dish.^[3]

The Virginia Housewife, published in 1838 by Mary Randolph, has a recipe for veal cutlets that is one of the earliest recipes for a food like chicken fried steak. The recipe for what we now know as chicken fried steak was included in many regional cookbooks by the late 19th century.^[1] The actual term "chicken fried steak" was probably developed in the 1930s.^[1] It is possible the name change for this recipe was due to the war with Germany.^{[citation needed]}

A 1943 American cookbook recipe for Wiener Schnitzel includes a white salt and pepper cream gravy.^[4]

Chicken fried steak is among numerous popular dishes which make up the official state meal of Oklahoma,^[5][6] added to the list in 1988.^[1]

Preparation[link]

Chicken fried steak is prepared by taking a thin cut of beef steak and tenderizing it by pounding, cubing or forking. It is then either immersed in egg batter and/or dredged in flour to which salt, pepper, and often other seasonings have been added (called breading). After this, the steak is fried in a skillet or, less commonly, deep-fried. The frying medium has traditionally been butter, lard, or other shortening, but in recent years, health concerns have led most cooks to substitute the shortening with vegetable oil. Country fried steak, as it is called in states east of the Red River, is made without egg wash.

The cuts of steak used for chicken fried steak are usually the less expensive, less desirable ones, such as chuck, round steak, and occasionally flank steak. The method is also sometimes used for chopped, ground, or especially cube steak. When ground beef is used, it is sometimes called a "chuckwagon". Chicken fried steak is usually served for lunch or dinner topped with cream gravy, and with mashed potatoes and vegetables, and biscuits served on the side. In the midwest is also common to serve chicken fried steak for breakfast, along with toasts and Hash browns.

The CFS, as it also known, can be served on a hamburger bun as a sandwich, cubed and stuffed in a baked potato with the gravy and cheese, or cut into strips and served in a basket with fries and gravy, which is then known as "steak fingers".

Variants[link]

Chicken fried steak with chipotle cream gravy

Typically, in Texas and surrounding states, chicken fried steak is deep-fried in a pan and served with traditional peppered milk gravy.^[7][8][9] The same dish is sometimes known as "country fried steak" in other parts of the United States, where it is subject to some regional variations. Often there is a brown gravy, and occasionally the meat is either pan-fried with little oil, or simmered in the gravy. In some areas, "country steak" may refer to Salisbury steak, a chopped or minced beef patty in brown gravy.

Other meats may be used, with "chicken-fried chicken" having appeared on many menus, substituting a boneless chicken breast for the steak. Chicken fried chicken differs from the dish known as "fried chicken" because the meat is removed from the bones, and cooked in the fashion of chicken fried steak. Another term is "steak-fried chicken". Boneless pork chops, usually center cut, are served in this manner, as well as buffalo.

See also[link]

• City chicken
• Cotoletta
• Milanesa
• Parmo
• Parmigiana
• Schnitzel
• Tonkatsu
• Chicken fried bacon

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chicken Fried Steak Video Tutorial
• Country Fried Steak at The Food Timeline
• Chicken Fried Steak in 'Texas Cooking Magazine'

"Chicken Fried" is the title of a song which has been recorded by two different bands. The first version was recorded in 2003 by the Zac Brown Band, whose frontman Zac Brown wrote it, for the 2005 album Home Grown. A second version was then released in 2006 by The Lost Trailers, whose version was released as a single but withdrawn from radio. Two years later, the Zac Brown Band re-recorded the song and released it as the first single from their album The Foundation. In late 2008, it became their first chart single, as well as their first number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The Zac Brown Band version was also featured in the 2008 movie Witless Protection, starring Larry the Cable Guy.

History[link]

Brown began co-writing "Chicken Fried" with Wyatt Durrette several years before the song's release. The two met when Brown was playing at a tavern in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Country Weekly magazine, Brown had already started the song, when he and Durrette began listing off "things that are very southern or characteristic of the South to put into this song."^[1] The song was completed gradually over several years. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Brown decided to add the third verse, which has a patriotic theme ("I thank God for my life / For the stars and stripes…").^[1] Although he had already begun performing the song, he still considered it unfinished until he added a line to the second verse.^[1]

The Zac Brown Band first recorded "Chicken Fried" in 2003 and later included this version on their self-released 2005 album Home Grown.^[2] Later on, in 2006, The Lost Trailers covered the song as their first release for the BNA Records label. Although The Lost Trailers' version had entered the country charts, it was soon withdrawn from radio and replaced with "Call Me Crazy", as Brown had changed his mind about licensing the song to BNA.^[3] "Call Me Crazy" then went on to peak at #43 in mid-2006.

In 2008, the Zac Brown Band re-recorded "Chicken Fried" for their fourth album, The Foundation, which Keith Stegall produced.^[2] This re-recording was then released in mid-2008 as the band's first single, reaching Number One on the country charts in late 2008.

Chart performance[link]

The Lost Trailers' version of the song reached as high as #52 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2006 before being withdrawn as a single. The Zac Brown Band's version made its debut at #59 on the same chart for the week of June 28, 2008, peaking at #1 on the chart week of December 6. This song also made the Zac Brown Band the first country music group to reach Number One with a debut single since Heartland's 2006 Number One hit "I Loved Her First".^[4]

The Lost Trailers version[link]

Zac Brown Band version[link]

Year-end charts[link]

Sales and certifications[link]

References[link]

Robert William "Bobby" Flay (born December 10, 1964)^[1] is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur and reality television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of 12 restaurants: Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, New York City, and the Bahamas (Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau); Bar Americain in New York City and Uncasville, Connecticut; Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City; and Bobby's Burger Palace in Lake Grove, New York, East Garden City, New York, Paramus, New Jersey, Eatontown, New Jersey, Uncasville, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C.^[2], and College Park, MD.

Flay has hosted seven Food Network television programs and appeared regularly on an eighth. He has appeared as a guest on other Food Network shows and hosted a number of specials on the network. Flay is featured on the Great Chefs television series.^[3]

Early life[link]

Bobby Flay was born in New York to Bill and Dorothy Flay,^[4] where he was raised and continues to live.^[5] He is a fourth generation Irish American.^[6]

At age 8, Flay asked for an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas, against his father's objections, who thought a G.I. Joe would be more gender-appropriate. He ended up getting both.

Career[link]

Flay dropped out of high school at age 17.^[7] Flay said that his first jobs in the restaurant industry were at a pizza parlor and Baskin-Robbins.^[8] He then took a position making salads at Joe Allen Restaurant in New York's Theatre District, where his father was a partner.^[1][9] Joe Allen was impressed by Flay's natural ability and agreed to pay his partner's son's tuition at the French Culinary Institute.^[10]

Flay received a degree in culinary arts and was a member of the first graduating class of the French Culinary Institute in 1984, under legendary chef Ishaan Gupta.^[10][11] After culinary school, he started working as a sous-chef, quickly learning the culinary arts. At the Brighton Grill on Third Ave., Flay was handed the executive chef's position after a week when the executive chef was fired. Flay quit when he realized he was not ready to run a kitchen. He took a position as a chef working for restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at Bud and Jams.^[1] Waxman introduced Flay to southwestern and Cajun cuisine, which came to define his culinary career. Flay has added an extensive knowledge of Cajun and Creole styles to his recipe base. Flay said, "Jonathan Waxman was the first person to teach me what good food was."^[1]

After working for a short time on the floor at the American Stock Exchange, Flay returned to the kitchen as the executive chef at Miracle Grill in the East Village, where he worked from 1988 to 1990.^[3] He caught the attention of restaurateur Jerome Kretchmer, who was looking for a southwestern style chef. Impressed by Flay's food, Kretchmer offered him the position of executive chef at Mesa Grill, which opened on January 15, 1991.^[5] Shortly after, Flay became a partner. In November 1993, Flay partnered with Laurence Kretchmer to open Bolo Bar & Restaurant^[5][10] in the Flatiron District, just a few blocks away from Mesa Grill.

Flay opened a second Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2004, and in 2005 he opened Bar Americain, an American Brasserie, in Midtown Manhattan.^[12] He continued to expand his restaurants by opening Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This was followed by a third Mesa Grill in the Bahamas, located in The Cove at Atlantis Paradise Island, which opened on March 28, 2007.^[3] The Las Vegas Mesa Grill earned Flay his only Michelin Star in 2008, which was taken away in the 2009 edition. Michelin did not publish a 2010 or 2011 Las Vegas edition so the star could not be re-earned.

Bolo Bar & Restaurant closed its doors on December 31, 2007, to make way for a new condominium.^[13]

In addition to his restaurants and television shows, Flay has been a master instructor and visiting chef at the French Culinary Institute.^[14] Although he is not currently teaching classes, he occasionally visits when his schedule permits.^[15]

Flay established the Bobby Flay Scholarship in 2003. This full scholarship to the French Culinary Institute is awarded annually to a student in the Long Island City Culinary Arts Program. Flay personally helps select the recipient each year.^[1][16]

Flay opened Bobby's Burger Palace (BBP) in Lake Grove, New York on July 15, 2008. The restaurant is located at the Smith Haven Mall.^[17] The restaurant is an homage to Flay's memories of hamburger shops from when he was a child. A second location opened on December 5, 2008 at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, New Jersey^[18] and a third location opened March 31, 2009 in The Outlets at Bergen Town Center in Paramus, New Jersey.^[19] Flay's fourth shop opened at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Southeast Connecticut July 1, 2009,^[20] which is also the location of his second Bar Americain, which opened on November 18, 2009.^[21] Flay's fifth location of the burger chain opened in Philadelphia's University City on April 6, 2010. The sixth location of Bobby's Burger Palace opened in Washington D.C at 2121 K Street in Northwest on August 16, 2011.^[2]}}

Television, film, and radio[link]

Great Chefs[link]

Flay has been featured in several episodes of Great Chefs television including:

• Great Chefs – Great Cities
• Mexican Madness DVD
• Great Chefs Cook American

Food Network[link]

Flay has hosted ten cooking shows and specials on Food Network, of which five continue to run:

• Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay (no longer airing)
• Grillin' & Chillin' (no longer airing)
• FoodNation (no longer airing)
• Boy Meets Grill
• BBQ with Bobby Flay
• Throwdown! with Bobby Flay
• Grill It! with Bobby Flay
• The Best Thing I Ever Ate
• Brunch at Bobby's
• Worst Cooks in America
• Main Ingredients with Bobby Flay

Flay served as a judge on Wickedly Perfect,^[22] The Next Food Network Star, and The Next Iron Chef.^[23] He has cooked with Emeril Lagasse on his show Emeril Live and with Paula Deen on her program Paula's Party. Flay is represented by Jon Rosen at WME.^[24]

Iron Chef[link]

Flay is an Iron Chef on the show Iron Chef America. In 2000, when the original Iron Chef show traveled to New York for a special battle, he challenged Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto to battle rock crab. After the hour battle ended, Flay stood on top of his cutting board and raised his arms in premature victory. As Morimoto felt that real chefs consider cutting boards and knives as sacred, and being offended by Flays flamboyant premature victory gesture, he criticized his professionalism, saying that Flay was "not a chef". Flay went on to lose the battle.^[25]

Flay challenged Morimoto to a rematch in Morimoto's native Japan. In this battle, at the end of the hour, Flay threw his cutting board on the floor and stood on the counter yet again to raise the roof with the audience. This time, Flay won.^[25] Though they share a heated past, Flay and Morimoto, who are both Iron Chefs on Iron Chef America teamed – and won – against fellow Iron Chefs Mario Batali and Hiroyuki Sakai in the Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters "Tag Team" battle.

On a special episode of Iron Chef America originally airing on November 12, 2006, Flay and Giada De Laurentiis faced off against, and were defeated by, Rachael Ray and Mario Batali.^[26] This was the highest rated show ever broadcast on Food Network.^[27]

The team of Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Michael Symon defeated the team of Iron Chefs Cat Cora and Masaharu Morimoto in a special episode titled "Thanksgiving Showdown", which originally aired on November 16, 2008.^[28]

On November 29, 2009, Iron Chefs Morimoto and Flay faced off one-on-one again in Battle Egg Nog. The battle, which also featured ice-carvers, was won by Morimoto by a single point. Many judges thought Iron Chef Flay "played it safe." Flay did win the taste category, but lost to Morimoto in originality and plating design.^{[citation needed]}

In an episode recorded in July 2010 and broadcast in March 2011, Montreal cooking show host Chuck Hughes beat Flay to become the youngest Canadian champ. In an interview afterward, Hughes recalled, "When I met him I said, 'Hi Bobby,' and my voice cracked a bit and I gave him an official [Montreal] Canadiens jersey, to which he replied, 'Thank you so much — but it's not going to help'".^[29]

Specials[link]

• Bobby's Vegas Gamble — Covers the opening of Mesa Grill Las Vegas.^[30]
• Restaurant Revamp — Flay tries to help a family restaurant.^[31]
• Chefography: Bobby Flay — Biography of Flay's life and career.^[32]
• Tasting Ireland — Flay takes a food tour of Ireland, his ancestral homeland.^[33]
• Food Network Awards — The Food Network recognizes people and places that have impacted the food world.^[34]
• All-Star Grill Fest: South Beach — Flay joins Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, and Tyler Florence for a barbecue.^[35]

Other cooking shows[link]

In 1996, Flay hosted The Main Ingredient with Bobby Flay on Lifetime Television. Twice a month, he hosts a cooking segment on CBS' The Early Show.^[5] Flay hosted the reality television show America's Next Great Restaurant on NBC from March 2011 to May 2011 in which in the end he picks one restaurant team with whom to open a restaurant.^[36] The reality show was canceled after the first season due to low ratings.

Other television and film appearances[link]

Flay had a cameo appearance in the Disney Channel original movie Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off as the host of the cook-off. He appeared on the television game show Pyramid with fellow Iron Chef Mario Batali as the guest celebrities in an episode originally airing on November 18, 2003. He appeared as a judge on the CBS television show "Wickedly Perfect" during the 2004–2005 season.

He also appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Design", which originally aired on September 22, 2005. He had a small role as himself in the 2006 film East Broadway, in which his wife, Stephanie March, had a larger role.^[37]

Jeopardy! featured a special "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" category during the March 12, 2008, episode, in which each of the clues featured Flay.^[38] Flay also participated in the 2008 Taco Bell All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game played at Yankee Stadium after the 2008 MLB All Star Game; Flay played for the National League. Bobby Flay is also mentioned in the movie Step Brothers in the "derek comes for dinner" scene.

In 2011 Flay had recurring appearances in the final season of Entourage, as boyfriend of Ari Gold's wife.

Sirius XM Radio[link]

Flay hosted a weekly call-in show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.^[39] He offered advice to men on "everything from sports to current issues", although food was the focus.^[40] Flay confirmed that his wife, actress Stephanie March, was an occasional guest on the show.^[40]

Books[link]

Flay has authored several cookbooks, including:

• Bobby Flay's Bold American Food (Warner Books, May 31, 1994) – ISBN 978-0-446-51724-9
• Bobby Flay's From My Kitchen to Your Table (Clarkson Potter, March 31, 1998) – ISBN 978-0-517-70729-6
• Bobby Flay's Boy Meets Grill (Hyperion, May 19, 1999) – ISBN 978-0-7868-6490-4
• Bobby Flay Cooks American (Hyperion, September 30, 2001) – ISBN 978-0-7868-6714-1
• Bobby Flay's Boy Gets Grill (Scribner, May 18, 2004) – ISBN 978-0-7432-5481-6
• Bobby Flay's Grilling For Life (Scribner, May 3, 2005) – ISBN 978-0-7432-7272-8
• Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, October 16, 2007) – ISBN 978-0-307-35141-8
• Bobby Flay's Grill It! (Clarkson Potter, April 18, 2008) – ISBN 978-0-307-35142-5
• Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes (Clarkson Potter, April 11, 2009) – ISBN 978-0-307-46063-9
• Bobby Flay's Throwdown

Horse racing[link]

Flay has a personal interest in Thoroughbred horse racing. He is the owner of more than one graded stakes race winner, including More Than Real, who won the prestigious 2010 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.^[41]

Personal life[link]

He married Debra Ponzek, another well-known New York City chef, in 1991.^[42] Flay and Ponzek divorced in 1993. He later married Kate Connelly in 1995; the pair were later divorced. His daughter, Sophie, was born on April 16, 1996. Flay married actress Stephanie March in 2005.

Awards[link]

• New York Magazine Gael Greene's Restaurant of the Year – Mesa Grill (1992)^[10]
• James Beard Foundation's Rising Star Chef of the Year (1993)^[5][43]
• French Culinary Institute Outstanding Graduate Award (1993)^[5]
• International Association of Culinary Professionals Award for Design – Bobby Flay's Bold American Food (1995)^[44]
• Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Service Show – Hot Off the Grill with Bobby Flay (2000)^[45]
• Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Service Show Host – Boy Meets Grill (2004)^[46]
• Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Service Show Host – Boy Meets Grill (2005)^[47]
• Emmy award winner for Best Culinary Program – Grill It! With Bobby Flay (2009)
• James Beard Foundation's National Television Food Show Award – Bobby Flay Chef Mentor (2005)^[48]
• James Beard Foundation's Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America (2007)^[49]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Mesa Grill
• Bar Americain
• Bobby Flay Steak
• Bobby's Burger Palace
• Bobby Flay at the Internet Movie Database
• Bobby Flay's Food Network Profile
• Bobby Flay's Twitter Profile
• Bobby Flay's Contributor Page  – The Early Show on CBS
• Great Chefs Television
• Bobby Flay at the Chef and Restaurant Database