Saddle Up, Pardner: Our Taste of Texas Dinner Party Continues
Crispy chicken fried steak bites and the puffiest of tacos
Welcome back to our Taste of Texas dinner party. So far, we’ve nailed the frozen margarita, shouted ranch water from the mountaintops, and proved that the perfect plate of nachos does exist. Today, we focus on chicken fried steak bites and puffy tacos. Those recipes are below, plus wine recs and a few ideas on creating the perfect vibe for your own Taste of Texas dinner party at home.
Menu
Chicken Fried Steak Bites
makes 12 bites
Nothing is more Texan - and more misunderstood by those who aren’t - than chicken fried steak. I went to a restaurant in LA once. This was a well-known spot that the hipsters love. (I am not a hipster, but I am hipster adjacent.) They had chicken fried steak on the menu, so of course I ordered it. I shit you not, those mofos took a THICK, expensive cut of beef, breaded it, fried it, and served it to me in earnest. It was a tough, bland atrocity, and it set me back $32. This is not how we make chicken fried steak.
The key to making chicken fried steak (or CFS, for short), is to buy a cheap cut and pound the living daylights out of it. Really give it the ol’ one-two. That’s the only way it will be tender enough. To achieve this level of tenderization, we use cube steak, which is a type of beef preparation that is usually cut from the top round or top sirloin. It’s called cube steak because of the cube-shaped dents it gets from the butcher’s tenderizing machine. I almost always buy mine pre-cubed, then I’ll pound it out a little more at home to make sure it’s no thicker than 1/4 inch. The breading is also important, and is approached in the opposite manner of a schnitzel. We want the breading to stick to the meat, not soufflé off of it - this is another reason why we use cube steak, it creates texture for the breading to adhere to, and we want it to be extra crispy, like a piece of fried chicken.
At this point in my life, I’ve tested a loooot of versions of CFS, and although I’ll always be tweaking my recipe, the one below is my current favorite. And hey, if you aren’t having a party, and just wanna make yourself a dang good CFS with a side of Texas toast and some mashed potatoes, this recipe works perfectly for that, too. (Don’t cut the steak into bites before you fry it.)
And now, a note on the mashed potatoes: most recipes will tell you to heat the milk and butter before mixing them in. I rarely do that, and it’s not worth the hassle here, especially with such a small batch.
Ingredients
For the mashed potatoes and Texas toast
1/2 pound russet potato, peeled and quartered
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 slices extra-thick, white sandwich bread, crusts removed
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and black pepper
For the chicken fried steak
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup buttermilk
1 beef cube steak (about 3/4 pound ), no thicker than 1/4-inch
Kosher salt and black pepper
Canola or vegetable oil for frying
For the cream gravy
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
Kosher salt and black pepper
Chopped scallions, parsley or cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
Start with the mashed potatoes and Texas toast. Heat the oven to 375F. Add the potatoes to a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the butter, garlic and garlic salt in a small bowl. Generously slather each slice of bread with the butter on both sides, about 2 teaspoons per side. (Reserve leftover butter for another use, or to make more Texas toast.) Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake until browned, about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through baking. Remove from the oven, set aside and reduce the oven to 200F.
By this time, the potatoes should be cooked. When they are, drain and return them to the pot over low heat to steam off excess water. Remove from heat. Add the milk, butter and good amount of salt and mash it all together with a potato masher. Be careful not to over-mix, lest they become gummy. It’s okay if they are a little chunky. Taste and add more salt, if needed. Add a splash of milk if you like thinner potatoes. Cover with foil and set aside. If you keep them on the stovetop, they’ll stay warm enough until it’s time to use them, but if you are worried about it, you can always pop them in that 200F oven for a spell.
Now for the chicken fried steaks. Line a sheet pan with paper towels and set aside. Add half an inch of oil to a heavy bottomed pot and begin heating it over medium heat, to 350F. Create your dredging station. Combine the flour, cornstarch, white rice flour, salt, baking powder, black pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Combine the egg and buttermilk in a separate bowl, and set an empty plate or sheet pan next to the seasoned flour mixture.
Cut the cube steak into 12 similarly sized pieces and season each piece on both sides with salt and pepper. Working with one at a time, dredge each steak piece in the seasoned flour mixture. Press it in with a little force, then shake off any excess. Dip it into the egg mixture so it’s completely covered, then dredge it the seasoned flour mixture one more time, pressing it in so the flour sticks to all sides, and place it on the empty plate.
Fry the steak pieces in batches until deep brown, flipping halfway through cooking, about 2 minutes per side. Drain on the paper towel-lined sheet pan and keep warm in the 200F oven.
Time for the gravy! Add 1 ½ tablespoons of the fry oil to a pot. Whisk the flour into the oil, and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously for about 1 minute. Stream in the milk while whisking constantly, bring it to a simmer and cook for 30 seconds to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and thin out with more milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, to achieve your desired consistency.
Assemble the bites. Cut the Texas toasts into quarters. Smear each toast point with a dollop of mashed potatoes, then place a chicken fried steak bite on top. Smother each bite with gravy, garnish with fresh herbs and serve.
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Make ahead: Can’t really make any of this ahead, unfortch. But if you follow the recipe as I wrote it, it all comes together in a very timely way. Wait! I changed my mind, you can actually make the garlic butter up to a week in advance. But then again, what would you do while you are waiting for the potatoes to boil?
Scalability: If you are going to the trouble to make this, I don’t recommend cutting the recipe down. (What are you going to do, boil half a potato?) You can absolutely double it, though! You’ll probably have some mashed potatoes and gravy left over, but is that ever a bad thing?
Alts and subs: If you are pressed for time or energy, feel free to omit the Texas toast and mashed potatoes altogether. A simple snack of tiny chicken fried steaks covered in gravy will go over just as well.
Puffy Tacos
makes 10 tacos
Now, I’m as big a fan of chicken fried steak as the next guy, but when it comes to absolute favorites, nothing beats a freshly fried crispy taco stuffed with ground beef.
This recipe is for puffy tacos, though, which are not quite the same as crispy tacos. The difference? Puffy tacos are made with fresh masa and fried straight from the tortilla press, as opposed to regular crispy tacos which are fried after the pressed masa has been cooked on the griddle. In the case of puffy tacos, the steam escaping from the raw masa puffs the dough up during the frying process for a completely different taco experience. They are incredibly delicate, crispy, flaky, light as air, and yes, a little labor intensive.
If you can find fresh masa at your local market, use that, otherwise, make the masa from dried masa harina, available at most grocery stores in the flour section. A tortilla press makes quick work of the process. Alternately, hand roll the tortillas with a rolling pin.
You can make these with any kind of filling, but I always go with my standby, the Tex-Mex staple of seasoned ground beef, because why mess with perfection? And I do believe that my recipe for Tex-Mex ground beef has achieved near perfection. It’s versatile, too - use it in tacos, make a taco salad, spoon it over a baked potato, turn it into sloppy joes, use it as a pizza topping, make some chili dogs etc, etc, etc, you get the idea.
The puffy shells should be the last thing you make. Have all the other ingredients on the table and ready to go so everyone can get busy building their tacos once you pop them out of the oil.
Ingredients
For the Tex-Mex ground beef filling
1 tablespoons neutral cooking oil or lard
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 large jalapeño, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 pound ground beef, 80 or 85 % fat
Kosher salt
1 lime, halved
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro stems
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
For the puffy shells
1 pound fresh masa
OR
1 ½ cups (200 g) masa harina mixed with 1 cup hot water, covered and rested for 30 minutes. (The dough should be soft but not sticky. If needed, add a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.)
To assemble
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Grated colby jack cheese
Finely chopped tomato
Finely chopped onion
Salsa
Sour cream
Instructions
Make the taco filling. Add the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeño and some salt and cook for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the sliced garlic, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and cayenne and cook for one more minute. Add the ground beef and more salt and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to finely break up the ground beef as it cooks. Add the cilantro and oregano, ½ cup water and the lime halves, cut side down. Reduce heat to a low simmer low and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat. When the lime is cool enough to handle, squeeze both halves into the meat and discard the spent rinds. If not using right away, store in the refrigerator until ready to use and reheat before serving.
Make the shells. Divide the prepared masa into 10 equal balls, each about the size of a ping pong. Cover the balls with a damp cloth while working. Press each ball in a tortilla press or roll them out with a rolling pin. Either way, do it between sheets of parchment paper so they don’t stick. Keep the pressed tortillas covered with a damp cloth.
If you haven’t already made the taco filling and prepped the assembly mise en place, now is the time to do it. And maybe make another round of margaritas.
Ok, where were we. Add 2 inches of oil to a large pot and heat to 350F. Working with one at a time, slide the pressed masa into the oil. It’ll sink to the bottom for a few seconds, then it will puff up and start to float. Use a heat-proof spatula to press into the center of the dough to form a v-shape. Once it holds it’s shape, remove the spatula and continue to fry the shell until it’s browned and crispy, about 30 seconds per side. Drain on a paper towel lined tray.
To serve, have all the eaters stuff the taco meat into their prospective shells - careful, they are fragile! And top with the fixins of their choice.
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Make ahead: Make the taco filling up to 4 days ahead. The toppings can be prepped the morning of. The tortillas need to be made, and fried, fresh.
Scalability: Half or double this recipe, depending on your needs.
Alts and subs: If you don’t want to bother with pressing your own tortillas, you can buy soft corn tortillas and fry them up into plain crispy tacos instead. They won’t be puffy, but they’ll still be tasty AF!
Wine Corner
Did you know that Texas produces wine? In fact, there are several winemaking regions throughout the state. The two largest are the Hill Country, centered around Fredericksburg, and the High Plains, centered around Lubbock. Many Texan vintners are making natural wines, too. If you can get your hands on bottles from any of these producers, I know they’ll be great, and what better to drink at a Taste of Texas dinner party?
C.L. Butaud - my friend Helen on the ground in Austin says their rosé is 👌
Southold - they have recently moved their operation to France, but you can still buy the last of their Texas wine via their website. Get ‘em while you can!
Les Lunes, Populis Texian - this is not a wine made from Texas grapes, but it is sold only in Texas!
Creating the Vibe
I’m always down to patron a restaurant with questionable food as long as the vibes are right, and I feel the same way about dinner parties. (Not that we ever have to worry about questionable food at one of our dinner parties.) That said, creating ambiance is half the battle, so with that in mind, I’ll leave you with a few ideas to help create the perfect atmosphere for your Taste of Texas dinner. Take them, leave them or use them as a jumping off point for your own ideations.
Screen a Texas-centric film or TV show in the background. I like to do mine with sound-off and subtitles so it doesn’t interfere with my Taste of Texas tunes. Here are some good options, but there are plenty more out there.
King of the Hill
Dazed and Confused
Dallas
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Last Picture Show
Giant
Selena
Hope Floats
A football game: Cowboys, Texans, Longhorns - any Texas team will do
Friday Night Lights
Set up a poker table and play a few rounds of Texas Hold ‘Em.
Tell everyone to dress like a cowboy, or to dress like their favorite Texan.
If you have the funds, serve everything in western-themed dishes. This site has some cute stuff. And Etsy never fails.
That’s all for now! Thanks for being here and stay tuned for sopapilla and pecan praline ice cream sandwiches, Up For Discussion conversation starters, and a grocery list and prep plan, coming next week in our final Taste of Texas newsletter. Don’t forget to follow Ruined Table on tik tok and instagram!
Stay messy,
McBroom
🤠
Absolutely love this series and this newsletter! Thank you for all of it 🔥👏♥️