Texas Style Fryer Recipes

THE ULTIMATE TEXAS CHICKEN FRIED STEAK RECIPE

Steps:

• Begin with the round steak. Place the round steak inside the butcher paper it comes in, or use parchment or wax paper to cover the individual steaks on both sides while pounding flat. Pound out your steaks with a tenderizing mallet to thin 1/4-inch slices. They will get bigger and wider as you go. I alternate between the spiky side and the flat side of the mallet as I go.
• Combine the flour, seasoning salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk it well, then place it on a large platter.
• In a glass dish (big enough to dunk a whole steak) combine the three eggs and milk and whisk into a thin mixture to make an egg wash.
• Dip each steak into flour, shake it off, then into egg wash, shake it off, then back into the flour. Place each steak on a nice big cookie sheet. Repeat with all the steaks, then transfer into the refrigerator for a half-hour. Do not skip this step. This is giving the flour mixture time to bind and develop. Meanwhile, you can clean up, remembering to reserve 4 tablespoons of seasoned flour for the gravy.
• To cook the steaks, fill a cast-iron skillet about halfway with canola oil. Heat the oil to 350°F on medium-high heat. (You can test the oil with the back of a wooden spoon. When it bubbles around the spoon, it's hot enough. This happens at about 350°F.)
• Using tongs, place a steak in the oil. It should immediately start to bubble and cook, but not explode with activity. If it does, you will want to turn the heat down a nudge. Depending on the size of your skillet, you can cook two or more at the same time. Especially if you preheated that cast-iron skillet. You may have to monitor the heat when adding new steaks. I think a good secret is to let the majority of the first steak get nice and well fried on one side before trying to add in another one.
• Watch the edges of the steak for a golden-brown color. The edges will tell you what it looks like underneath! When you feel like the sides look golden brown, flip the steak and repeat frying on the other side, 4-5 minutes depending on the pan used.
• As each steak is done, remove it from the pan and immediately salt it on each side. Hold on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at about 225°F. This will keep them hot while you cook the other steaks, but they are best served quickly for maximum crispiness.
• When all of the steaks are resting and toasting in the oven, pour all the grease out of the skillet except about 3-4 tablespoons and turn the heat down to low. Sprinkle in the reserved flour and whisk until a brown paste begins to form.
• Slowly whisk in one can of milk and whisk until it is thoroughly combined. Turn the heat up to medium and whisk as the gravy begins to take form and thicken, which happens when the mixture starts to simmer. Little bubbles will begin to form. Keep the heat around medium.
• I usually add another 1/2 can of milk as I decide how thin/thick I want my gravy . . . that's just a preference thing. Feel free to do what you like. Add the lemon juice, onion and garlic powder, and salt. We crack freshly ground pepper in just before serving and sprinkle on fresh thyme from our herb garden.
• Top the chicken-fried steaks with gravy and serve with your favorite sides.

FRIED CABBAGE TEXAS STYLE

Steps:

• Place the shredded cabbage into a large bowl, and sprinkle the sugar over it. This will remove the excess water from the cabbage. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside, reserving grease in skillet.
• In a small bowl, mix together the cornbread mix and cayenne pepper. Stir into the cabbage until well blended. In the skillet the bacon was cooked in, saute onion and jalapeno in the hot bacon grease until tender. Stir in cabbage, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the cabbage wilts, about 15 minutes. Stir in crumbled bacon, and serve immediately.

CRAB CAKE AND FRIED GREEN TOMATO SLIDERS

Steps:

• For the crab cakes: Gently fold together the crabmeat, panko, mayonnaise, chives, Dijon, seafood seasoning, lemon zest and juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl. Refrigerate the crab mixture for 30 minutes to firm up; this allows the panko to absorb some of the liquid, helping the crab cakes bind together.
• For the remoulade: Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, parsley, Dijon, capers, hot sauce, Worcestershire, paprika, cayenne, garlic, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and mix until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• For the crab cakes: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.
• Scoop 1/3-cup mounds of the crab mixture, pat into 1-inch-thick patties and place on the prepared baking sheet. You should have 9 patties. Bake until golden around the edges and heated through, about 205 minutes.
• For the fried green tomatoes: Meanwhile, heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Line a plate with paper towels or set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet.
• Whisk together the flour, cayenne, garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow dish. Whisk the eggs in another shallow dish. Put the panko in a third shallow dish. Dip each tomato slice in the flour, then egg, then panko.
• Fry the green tomatoes, flipping, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the prepared plate or rack.
• For serving: Split the slider buns. Put a fried green tomato on each bottom bun. Spoon some remoulade over each, add a crab cake and top with pickled red onions and Bibb lettuce. Close the sliders with the top buns.

CHEBUREKI

Steps:

• Make the meat filling: Place the chopped onion in a food processor and process until it is very fine and has started to release moisture. Transfer the onion to a large bowl. Add the beef, pork, black pepper and salt, and mix very well. Gradually add kefir to the mixture and mix it into the meat using a spoon. The consistency should be pourable and almost soupy, not stiff. If necessary, add more kefir, 1 tablespoon at a time, to achieve the desired consistency. Cover mixture and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
• Make the dough: Place 3 cups of the flour in a large bowl. Add the fine salt and mix with a fork. Add the water and mix until combined. Sprinkle a work surface with some of the remaining flour and knead in the rest of the flour little by little (you may not need all of it), until the dough is pliable and not sticky, about 15 minutes. (The dough should spring back when you make a slight indent with your finger.) Shape the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 1 hour.
• Set up your frying station: Pour 2 inches of oil into a wok or a Dutch oven. Line a sheet pan with a wire rack and some paper towels to absorb any excess oil from the finished chebureki. Heat the oil over medium-high until the temperature reaches between 350 and 375 degrees.
• Divide the rested dough into 12 pieces and roll them into balls. (The dough should be pliable and shouldn't need much flour.) Flatten the pieces into disks and cover with plastic wrap so they don't dry out. Working with one piece at a time, lightly dust the counter with flour and roll out the dough into a very thin round about 8 inches in diameter. (You should be able to read text through the dough.)
• Place 3 level tablespoons of filling on one side of the round and spread it into a thin half-moon, leaving a 1-inch border around the filling. Make sure not to add too much filling! Overfilling increases the risk of leakage during frying.
• Fill a small bowl with water, and using your finger, dampen the edges of the whole round to help seal the cheburek. Fold the dough over the side with the filling, trying to make sure there are no air bubbles between the filling and the dough to help decrease the chance of bursting. Press the edges to seal tightly, then seal them completely with a fork. Use a pasta wheel or paring knife to trim off any uneven edges, if you like.
• Once the oil is at 350 degrees, carefully lower the shaped cheburek into the oil and fry until the dough is golden brown and bubbly, about 2 minutes per side. Using tongs or a large slotted spatula, transfer the fried cheburek to the rack. Repeat shaping, filling and frying with the remaining dough and filling.
• Let the cheburek cool slightly, then dig in! These are best eaten hot. Enjoy with a glass of ryazhanka or kefir.

TEXAS-STYLE BRISKET

Steps:

• Trim fat on brisket to 1/2-inch thickness. Rub brisket with pepper and salt; place in a large disposable foil pan, fat side up. Refrigerate, covered, several hours or overnight. Meanwhile, soak wood chips in water., To prepare grill for slow indirect cooking, adjust grill vents so top vent is half open and bottom vent is open only a quarter of the way. Make 2 arrangements of 45 unlit coals on opposite sides of the grill, leaving the center of the grill open. Light 20 additional coals until ash-covered; distribute over unlit coals. Sprinkle 2 cups soaked wood chips over lit coals., Replace grill rack. Close grill and allow temperature in grill to reach 275°, about 15 minutes., Place foil pan with brisket in center of grill rack; cover grill and cook 3 hours (do not open grill). Check temperature of grill periodically to maintain a temperature of 275° throughout cooking. Heat level may be adjusted by opening vents to raise temperature and closing vents partway to decrease temperature., Add another 10 unlit coals and 1 cup wood chips to each side of the grill. Cook brisket, covered, 3-4 hours longer or until fork-tender (a thermometer inserted in brisket should read about 190°); add coals and wood chips as needed to maintain a grill temperature of 275°., Remove brisket from grill. Cover tightly with foil; let stand 30-60 minutes. Cut brisket across the grain into slices.

TEXAS-STYLE FRYER

Steps:

• Combine seasoned salt and pepper; rub inside and outside of chicken. Place chicken on rotisserie rod on grill with a drip pan according to manufacturer's directions. In a small saucepan, saute garlic in butter until tender. Stir in broth and lemon juice. Pour into drip pan and place under chicken. Baste with sauce every 15 minutes for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until juices run clear. Additional broth may be added to basting sauce if necessary.

AIR FRYER NACHOS

Steps:

• Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees F (180 degrees C) for about 3 minutes. Line air fryer basket with foil or a parchment liner, and spray with cooking spray.
• Spread out chips in the fryer basket in a single layer, slightly overlapping chips, so the cheese doesn't melt through. Lightly dust chips with taco seasoning to get a pop of taco flavor, and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Don't overcrowd the basket.
• Top cheese with olives and tomatoes and place basket in the air fryer.
• Air-fry until cheese is melted and chips are starting to slightly brown on the edges, 5 to 6 minutes. Watch closely to be sure the cheese doesn't burn. If necessary, add additional time until you reach your preferred crispness.
• Move nachos to a plate, garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve immediately.

TEXAS STIR-FRY

Steps:

• Heat oil in large skillet or wok.
• Stir-fry chicken with chili powder until lightly browned.
• Remove with slotted spoon; set aside and keep warm.
• Add onions and garlic to drippings, stir-fry 30 seconds.
• Add remaining ingredients (except rice) and stir-fry until completely heated.
• Add chicken and cook until heated through.
• Serve over Texmati/basmati rice.

TEXAS STYLE CHICKEN FRIED STEAK WITH CREAM GRAVY

Steps:

• Beat together the egg and milk and set aside.
• Mix together the salt, black pepper, paprika and white pepper and sprinkle on both sides of beef cutlets.
• Fill plastic zip lock back with flour. Drop steaks into bag to manually and dredge the steak in flour. Then pour flour into a shallow dish and shake excess flour off of the steaks. Use a pair of tongs for dipping steak into egg mixture and a separate pair of tongs for dipping into the flour.
• Set cutlets aside on a piece of waxed paper.
• Heat the cooking oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Oil should be about a half-inch deep in the pan. (This recipe is not about diets!) Check the temperature with a drop of water; if it pops and spits back at you, it's ready.
• With a long-handled fork, carefully place each cutlet into the hot oil. Protect yourself (and your kitchen) from the popping grease that results. Fry cutlets on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 4 or 5 minutes until cutlets are done through. Drain cutlets on paper towels.
• Cream Gravy.
• After the cutlets are removed from the pan, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.
• Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour (use the left-over flour from the chicken fried steak recipe (waste not -- want not) in the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour.
• Gradually stir in 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water, mixed together, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and mashing out any lumps. Lower heat, and gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired thickness. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste.