Zenster, God bless you.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I just wanted to give a heartfelt thank you to Zenster. These are trying times for me. Sitting at home recovering from surgery, watching the endless scene of distruction and pain unfolding on the screen in front of me. I am a captive audience, sitting here in my back brace, nothing to do but watch the horror unfold. I go to the doctors office today, and find I may be out of work longer than I thought. Instead of the 1 or two inch incision that I was expecting, it was more like 5 inches, although the surgeon was not there to tell me why, I suspect he found more damage than he thought, and the nurse who examined me did not sound hopefull that I would be back at work any time soon. Depressed, almost to the point of tears, and feeling dizzy and helpless from the pain killers I hobbled out to my car(my wife drove, of course). I drove by my favorite Chicken fried steak resturant, and so wanted to stop in, but I knew I was not allowed to sit up in a normal chair for extended periods of time. Then I remembered Zensters chicken fried steak recipie. I got home, Mrs. Badger loaded up the Deep fryer with lard and ran to the store for sirlion. Holy shit, man where do you come up with these recipies. This was perhaps the finest chicken fried steak that I have ever eaten. I sit here, typing at my laptop, the velcro straps straining hold in the Chicken Fried Steak filled bdgr that they have the misfortune to have been drafted to contain. All is well for the moment, The simpsons are on, the vicoden is meriliy turning me into a happy fluffy cloud…floating just above my lazy boy…well, as much as a 380 pound wounded biker can float anyway.

God bless you Zenster my friend, wherever you are…

2

From that recipe, how much is 1/2 Cube Butter or lard? I am not a cook, and I am not sure how much that means. :o

3

I’ll have to ask Mrs. Bdgr when she wakes up in the A.M. I just handed it to her and she made it.

4

HIs rib recipie is also the shit…If only he would give me the dry rub recipie…

5

I asked Mrs. Bdgr, she said she didnt know either, but just fried it enough lard to do the job and didnt worry about it. Her best guess is that he mean one of those blocks of lard you buy at the store, bu she wasnt sure. Zenster, you out there?

6

Thanks bdgr. I’ll wing it. Get it? Wing it?? Chicken fried steak?..wing?..oh. So no chicken is involved here, right? I have tried to “guess” at recipes before with bad results.

7

Well, with a deep fryer, which I highly recomend, you pretty much follow the fryers instructions on how much lard to put in it anyway. Good luck.

8

Here’s Zenster’s recipe, from his Ultimate Recipe Thread.

Chicken Fried Steak

Preparation time: 30 Minutes

Serves: 2 People

Ingredients:

1-2 Lbs Top pound or sirloin steak
2 Eggs
1/2-3/4 Cup of flour
2 Tbs Water, milk or cream
1/2 Cube Butter or lard
1/2 Tbs Salt
1/2 Tbs Ground black pepper
1/2 Tsp Ground paprika
1/2 Tsp Onion powder
1/4 Tsp Garlic powder
1/4 Tsp Cayenne pepper
Dash of Sage powder
Dash of Cumin powder
Dash of Ground celery seed
Preparation:

The most authentic way to make a chicken fried steak is to serrate the meat yourself. The “cubed” steaks that you get in the store will suffice if you are pressed for time but the results will not be nearly as good. To serrate your meat, use a sharp knife to make deep slices in the meat that do not cut all of the way through the piece. The slices should be about 1/8" apart and be made all across the meat in one direction, preferably crossing the grain on the diagonal. Turn over the meat and make the same cuts going at right angles to the slices on the other side of the piece. When you are finished the meat should almost expand like a lattice work when picked up.

Mix the flour, salt and pepper together. Dredge the serrated meat in the flour on both sides. Be sure to open up the serration in the meat in order to allow the dredge to penetrate into the cuts. This is accomplished by allowing the meat to “roll” into the flour, thus opening the serration. Place the dredged meat on waxed paper and allow it to rest for at least 5-10 minutes before proceeding.

Crack the eggs into a dish and add the water, milk or cream. I usually use milk. I know that this tightens the egg mixture, but I like the added richness it gives to the crust. Beat the eggs well and remove any parts of the egg white that have not broken up using a fork.

Warm a skillet over low heat. Add all of the other spices to the dredging flour. Add half of the butter or lard to the skillet and wait for it to melt. Dredge the steak in the flour and spice mixture once more and then into the egg wash. Run the washed steak through the flour again and place in the pan. Turn up the heat to medium low. The steak should not cook too quickly. You want to form a nice golden brown crust on each side without cooking the steak past medium rare. Add the remaining butter or lard to the pan before turning the steaks, or if the pan goes dry at any point. Deep frying is also perfectly acceptable if you have a fryer in your kitchen. Use lard for the most authentic results.
Note: This should be served with a country gravy and cat head biscuits. Other posters, please provide your favorite versions of these recipes. One of the more authentic chicken fried steak recipes called for working the dredge into the steak with the edge of a plate. Your mileage may vary.

9

I wonder if Zenster got a chance to see this?

10

Zenster is a bit ‘under the weather’ himself nowadays. I’ve notified him of your thread in his. Tit for tat:). Hope you feel better soon. A careful selection of five or six of his recipes should hasten your recuperation period.:smiley:

11

bdgr, thank you.

That chicken fried steak recipe is off the top of my head, but the result of twenty or more tries. I’m really gratified that I was able to ease your discomfort with some good homestyle grub. Almost all of the recipes that I posted in the Ultimate Recipe Thread were off the cuff. Then again, I’ve cooked almost all of them a gazillion times. I’ll freely confess that my chicken fried steak recipe has elicited raves in the past.

Because of all of the wonderful and supportive responses to my other thread, not to mention the special thrill that this one represents, I’m going to grant bdgr’s wish, (sort of). Although this isn’t exactly my own recipe, it is close enough for any of you to reach the same pinnacle that I have with mine. Don’t be afraid to experiment, but, most of all, write down your recipes whenever you make a batch.

To celebrate the homecoming of The Million Dollar Mutt™ I’m going to post the basic starter recipe for my dry rub that Stoid was raving about.

To all of you wonderful people here:

Memphis Style Dry Rub
Herb and Spice Barbecue Seasoning

2 boxes light brown sugar (must be fresh to avoid clumping)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup paprika

Heaping tablespoon of:

Ground black pepper (or two tbs)
Cayenne powder
Allspice
Ground sage

Heaping teaspoon of:

Cumin
Chile powder (mixed spice is ok, but straight powdered chile is best)
Anyway, start there. Mix all of the ingredients. Hold back on the salt and cumin a little and balance it at the end. Run all of the combined ingredients through a coarse sieve to ensure a free-running consistency. The final product should have a slightly sweet, yet salty and hot flavor to it.

There should be a nicely complex and dark, hot taste from all of the spices, but none of them should stand out like a sore thumb. It’s really hard to overdo the garlic or onion powder but watch out for the cumin, you can blow away a whole batch with a single slip of the measuring spoon.
Thanks again, bdgr, your post was kindness itself.

12

Whoa!

Most excellent, Zenster, my sweet!

13

Thanks Zenster. I am ever so glad your dog is better. I have a bunch of ribs in the fridge, Maybe I can con Mrs. Bdgr into trying out the dry rub tomorrow.

Maybe you should start a part II recipe thread, I found the other one a bit late and I have a few I would have thrown in.

14

A ½ cube or ½ stick of butter is ¼ cup of liquid or four tablespoons. A deep fryer is obviously going to take a lot more.

The real trick for pan frying is to use a very well seasoned skillet so that the steak doesn’t stick and the crust remains intact. It is one of the great challenges of this recipe. Namely, to leave the danged thing well enough alone until the crust hardens, before you try to flip it. The secret is to have enough hot fat to bind up the crust and literally float it off the pan just long enough for the coating to firm up. If the pan is drying up when you go to flip the steak, dot the topside with a couple of pats of butter before you turn it. That way, the steak lands in a supply of fat to prevent any sticking.

Past that, make sure there is enough salt in the recipe to begin with. Also, don’t miss trying some without any gravy to get a full appreciation of the flavor involved. Personally, I like to scarf one of these country fried wonders with a pair of hen fruit just to watch my cholesterol numbers whirl around like slot machine reels. But that’s just me.

Now, bdgr, if you’re serious about them thar recipes, maybe I’ll just have to hunker down with JavaMaven and continue negotiating with her about the second part of The Ultimate Recipe Thread. She once mentioned how she might oversee the second chapter if I wanted to continue the archive work for it. I’ll have to email her and see what happens.

So, if you all behave, maybe I’ll get up some gumption and post my Carolina style no-tomato barbecue sauce recipe. It is a true molasses, mustard and vinegar concoction that’ll make your eyes roll back in your head when you taste it.

15

I’m always good.

Will I need a cigarette afterwards? :wink:

16

Can one of you kindly people explain how you use the dry rub - I assume it’s a coating mix for something that is then fried, is that right?

17

Barbecued Pork Spareribs
Authentic Memphis Style

Start with this and you can’t go wrong reprise. Incidentally, I’m still deeply touched by your pondering about the balance of things with the pooch and my efforts for the other folks. It really helped me to maintain some perspective.

Anyway, combine the above dry rub recipe with the linked ribs recipe and you will get a taste of the hereafter.

18

K. a friend of mine here was so touched with your sharing your dry rub recipe that he volunteered to let me post his chili recipe. Mind you, I am the only person alive he has allowed to see it, not even his wife. This stuff, when mad full strength, will warm itself up to above room temp straight from the fridge. It once destroyed a set of tupperware bowls. It is not for the faint of heart.
I will also up my shrimp creole recipe and my chicken andoullie gumbo recipe(both aquired from a friend of mine from paunchatula(I have no idea if I spelled that correctly)

Lets see…Theres a bunch of Norwegian stuff from my wifes family…Navaho Tacos, some low carb stuff…and I bet we can come up with a few more.