Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound top-round steak, cut into 4 even pieces
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• Vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups milk

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. With a meat mallet, pound the round steak pieces until they are about ¼-inch thick.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and the cayenne. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the buttermilk until smooth.
3. Add enough vegetable oil to a large cast-iron skillet to reach halfway up the sides, then warm it over medium heat.
4. Place 1 piece of the pounded steak in the flour mixture and turn it until it is covered. Lift it out and tap away the extra flour. Dip it into the egg mixture, letting the excess fall back into the bowl, then return it to the flour and coat it on both sides. Put the breaded beef on a sheet pan, then do the same with the remaining pieces.
5. Once the oil is hot, lay in as many pieces of beef as fit in a single layer, usually 2. Fry until the underside is golden brown, about 4 minutes, then turn and cook the second side until golden, another 4 minutes. Move the chicken-fried steaks to a wire rack set over a sheet pan, and place the pan in the oven so they stay warm. Fry the remaining beef the same way.
6. For the gravy, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the skillet. Set the pan over medium heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the flour left from dredging. Keep whisking until the roux deepens to a dark brown.
7. Turn the heat to low and gradually whisk in the milk, smoothing out any floury lumps as you go. Season with salt and plenty of pepper, then cook until the gravy thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. If it gets too thick, loosen it with a little more milk or water.
8. Spoon the cream gravy over the chicken-fried steak and serve.