reckon , for a brief second , that poulet - fried steak did n’t exist . Gone from the Earth , that shattering crunch , that peppery bonanza . The ship’s boat steak , juicy and immure in that crunchy breading , wipe uncontaminating from our lives . You ’re squall openly and drift the street for meaning , right ? Chicken - fried steak , or more compactly CFS , is , without question , a reigning king of Texas food picture . In Dallas , the CFS ancestor run deep .
It happened in 2011 : the city manager of Dallasproclaimedhis message from high atop city Charles Francis Hall that October 26th would be know , from then on , as Chicken Fried Steak Day . It ’s a real twenty-four hour period on your veridical calendar because it ’s a true tradition in Dallas . Ignore the other poser interior holidays : this came straight from the Office of the Mayor . Dallas ’ Ed Murph , the owner of Norma ’s Café – one of the best place in Dallas to devour CFS – campaigned for this proclamation . Then , it was given to us with a great crown of greenish bean .
The descent of CFS , accord to the experts , is up for epic debate . Historians have point to weinerschnitzel , a bread veal dish impart to Texas by German immigrants , as the origin . There ’s also thefamous storyof Jimmy Don Perkins , a light - order cook in Lamesa who mistakenly saw two orders , “ chicken , " and " electrocute steak , ” combine into one glorious , breaded request . If this is the true origin , we ’re depart to call for a Godzilla - sized , solid - gold statue of Perkins in various checkpoint around the state … and perhaps the brass should be forever deeply - fry .
Courtesy of Babe’s Chicken Dinner House
Robb Walsh , formerAustin Chroniclefood editor , and the absolute must - read authorisation on CFS , says there are three edition of the dish to take note : the East Texas version , which is the tenderized steak dipped in ballock and then flour ( like fried Gallus gallus ) ; the Central Texas adaptation , which blow bread scum bag over flour in the same procedure ; and the West Texas ’ version , which is fundamentally a pan - fried steak . No orchis batter for that one .
No matter the preparation , volaille - electrocute steak is a historical watershed that taste as nuts as it sounds . upright chicken - electrocute steak has scratch gravy , made in the skillet like a roux ; is loaded with capsicum , and has a crisp breading that stays close to the meat . Great CFS , the kind that alter your thinker and body for the salutary , is a splendid sensory experience of crunch and saltiness and soupiness and oestrus . Green beans , with their grassy crunch , are a perfect side . One bit of great CFS , and you could taste Texas sunshine before two world wars .
But with cracking CFS comes great responsibility . When a dish of green beans , mashed potatoes , and a fried steak , big as the Texas flag , appear , you may think , “ This has got to be easy to do . ” Like some of the oldest dishes in America , it ai n’t .
AllGood Cafe
CFS requires sharp instruction execution , time , and , most importantly , a love of the dish . In Dallas , you may smack a unadulterated , unadulterated love in the proficient versions . Canned vegetable and gluey gravy are not welcome here . Dallas ’ variant are previous - fashioned , dredge in a secret seasoned flour , or pressed with piquant Ruffles chip shot crumbles , or smash deep - fried . When then - New York Timesfood criticSam Sifton inflict in 2011for the Super Bowl , he marveled at Babe ’s CFS : “ New York has nothing to compare with the excellency of Babe ’s fried chicken . ” It ’s true . All cities are hereby require to envy our Gallus gallus - fried city .
crybaby - fried steak is abundant in Dallas . There are good versions , and then there are the I that truly stick to you for a long metre … the ones that try out like Hill Country in spring , or a spread mitt clapping the dust off of gloves . These are the volaille - fried steak dishes in Dallas that will interpolate your desoxyribonucleic acid .
AllGood Cafe
AllGood Cafe executes poulet - fry steak with NASA - like mathematical exactness . The tenderloin steak , hand - pounded thinly , is fried in groundnut oil , which sheaths it in a crunchy armor . The scrape windfall ( made from a stock of roast chicken bones ) is effete , peppered with heart and rich homemade flavor that will give you trembling . With unripe bean and a side of homemade mashed Irish potato , it ’s a sublime dish that tastes on the nose of the state that you love .
Tom’s Burgers and Grill
There are so many joyous heater points about the CFS at Tom ’s Burgers & Grill . The fried crust is made of Ruffles white potato chip . It ’s one of seven unavowed factor ( another tormenter : the steak gets a buttermilk bathroom ) . Tom ’s Burgers serves chicken - fried steak in three ways : the well old - fashioned way , with garlic , red mashed potatoes and Texas pledge ; between slices of buttered , toasted brioche ; and for breakfast with two egg , hash Brown University , and toast . The eponymous Tom says “ we make them novel every dayspring and sometimes again before the dinner party rush . ” Salty and crisp than your violent CFS dreams , this has beat to be one of the most unique CFSs in Texas .
Ellen’s Southern Kitchen
This version of CFS is so crunchy that one snack will shatter glass . The recent uptick in Dallas earthquakes has been mistakenly attributed to fracking . It ’s not fracking , it ’s the compaction of Ellen ’s poulet - fried steak . Ellen ’s is top round , dipped in veteran flour ( ego - jump flour makes for fantastic crust here ) , and deeply - fried . Get the creamy gravy served on the side . Mow through pieces , dipping your delicious wedge into gravy along the way , and you ’ll experience Richter weighing machine - registering felicity .
Norma’s Cafe
You know the might of Norma ’s , a staple fiber on Davis St for more than half a century . If chicken - fry steak is a superhero dish , then Norma ’s version is Batman . It take inside round steak cuts – Norma ’s confirm they melt down it through a tenderizer four prison term – dipped in a mix of orchis , Milk River , and flour spiked with hush - hush ingredients . It ’s the original , punch - to - the - face good diner - style fry steak .
Babe’s Chicken Dinner House
If you consider of your plate like a clock , Babe ’s chicken - fry steak traverse 12 hours . This plate - sized , juicy , and crotch - tender steak is a masterpiece . It ’s a delicious slice of the moon . Babe ’s power come in the signifier of the crust . Few things crunch like the breading at Babe ’s . You ’ll sense the power of it from brain to foot . Juicy steak hide modestly in that fried crust ; dip it in the gold rush arena for a dish that transcends space and fourth dimension .
Ozona Bar & Grill
Very ripe things pass to the chicken - fry steak at Ozona . After a bath of buttermilk and flour seasoned with private fixings , Ozona hasbeen knownto put scallop under the basket in the deep frier . Queso sometimes is ladeled on top . The Travel Channel enunciate Ozona ’s CFS is the “ stuff of legend , ” and federal agency Robb Walsh featured it in hisepic list of lovable CFS . Gallus gallus - fried steak will always be the stuff of Texas legend .
Courtesy of Tom’s Burgers and Grill
Courtesy of Norma’s Cafe
Courtesy of Babe’s Chicken Dinner House
Ozona Grill & Bar
