Chicken Fried Ribeye - Poblano Cream Gravy and Mashed Taters

[brazoseagle]

Ok, so It's no secret I am a fan of Ribeye's, and 90% of my Ribeye consumption is grilled steaks, but I have perfected a recipe that, even though a bit unorthodox, will blow your mind.

If you don't like Chicken Fried Steak in general, than you won't like this probably. Chicken Fried Steak is one of my all time favorite meals, and it is a huge staple in the South. Some people don't understand it, some have never heard of it, and many have never eaten it, or at least never eaten it done properly. Several years ago, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine that was from New Jersey, who had moved down to Texas to attend college. We were talking about food, and we got on the subject of Chicken Fried Steak and some other dishes. He said that he had never heard of chicken fried steak before and he also had never heard of anyone eating catfish. (Both if which I eat on a weekly basis and have since childhood.) That just blew my mind, and the first time he tried good 'ol home cooked chicken fried steak, it blew his mind.

P.S. The next best thing to Chicken Fried Steak is Chicken Fried Venison!!!

So I have had CFS all over the south and I have tried all the "award winning" joints out there, but as the saying goes, nothing compares to the way my grandmother made it.

But one day I was at a "upscale" Tex-Mex place and they had a special on the menu for Chicken Fried Ribeye, this was 10 years ago. I ordered it and was not impressed, but set out on a quest to make this recipe so kick ass, that it would blow peoples minds. So I did and I did.

Here it is.....Chicken Friend Ribeye with Poblano Cream gravy and mashed taters:

There are 3 parts:

1) The Steak

2) The Gravy

3) The Taters

1)The Steak - pick out a nice thin ribeye, not thick like what is best for grilling, also no need to get prime, Choice or Select will do.

Use a Jacquard or fork to pierce both sides with as many holes as you can.

Use a meat mallet to further tenderize and flatten out the steak

Season steak with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.

Set aside, make sure it is room temp before cooking

Breading - You will need eggs and flour. Season both the eggwash and flour with salt and pepper and some powdered beef bullion.

Make an eggwash with 2 eggs, a splash of buttermilk and seasoning and mix together with a fork.

Dredge the steak in the flour coating evenly and then in the eggwash and then back in the flour and set aside for at 45 min. - 1 hr for the crust to set.

2) Gravy - you will need milk, flour, butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, 2 poblano peppers and a can of cream of poblano soup.

Grill or char the poblano peppers in the oven, stovetop or grill. Peel the skin away once charred.

Place the peppers in the food processor or blender with a dash of milk and puree it down to a liquid.

in a cast iron skillet, melt equal parts butter and flour over medium heat. You are looking for a consistency and color of dark peanut butter. This is your roux, what will thicken the gravy. If it burns , you have to start over.

Slowly whisk in some milk a little at a time, breaking up all the clumps of flour and roux. Add the can of Cream of Poblano soup and add the charred poblano pepper mixture, bring to a slight boil and then turn the heat down to low and let simmer. Season to taste, it will for sure need salt and pepper. If the gravy is not as thick as you like, add more flour, if it is too thick, add more milk. Make sure you cook the gravy long enough to cook out the raw flour flavor.

3) Taters - You will need as many potatoes as you like and 2-3 poblano peppers. Char in the same manner as before. Process with milk as in the same manner as before.

Boil the potatoes like normal, once they are fork tender, add the peppers and milk, salt, pepper, butter and sour cream, and mix with an electric mixer until silky smooth.

Use half and half if you want richer taters, don't use heavy cream! Add more milk and butter for desired consistency and taste.

Cooking the steak.

In a cast Iron Skillet, place about an inch to an inch and a half of either canola oil, vegetable oil, or shortening in the skillet and bring to a medium high heat.

You don't want it too hot or it will burn, too low and the crust will not hold to the meat and it will be greasy.

****Don't over crowd the pan with steaks, you will lower the temp too much and you will not achieve proper browning.

Oil is ready when you can dust in some flour and it rises and sizzles.

Put your steaks in, about 4-5 minutes per side. Lift up the steaks to make sure you are not burning them, but don't flip them unless you have a deep golden brown.

Once both sides are done, set on a cooling rack for the oil to drip off....don't sit it in paper towels, it just sits in its own oil.

Slap on some gravy, get you a scoop of taters, maybe some fresh onion and jalapeno, a nice buttered roll or cornbread and a cold beer and you prepare yourself to have your mind blown!

[PuffDaddie]

Love the receipe,keep on cooking.

[Ghabanos]

Nice. Will have to give this a try