Tenderloin versus Chicken Fried Steak....

[mattndallas]

compare/contrast please.

[cheeseczar]

Chicken fired steak is superior to a tenderloin...outside the state of Indiana, that is.
Within the Hoosier land, however, no comparison at all.

[Racemind]

C'mon, this is like picking between your children.

Tenderloin is eaten with by hand, Chicken Fried Steak is served with gravy, taters, and eaten with a fork.

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Racemind ]

[indyracer56]

I have never had either one!!!!!

[jetdoc]

Originally posted by Racemind:
<STRONG>C'mon, this is like picking between your children.

Tenderloin is eaten with by hand, Chicken Fried Steak is served with gravy, taters, and eaten with a fork.

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: Racemind ]</STRONG>

What Racemind said! However, if you get CFS in TX that's a different story!

[PHJIndy]

This is an out and out troll! There's no comparison!

And if you chicken fried steak devotees would care to try and top the tenderloin thread just go ahead and try.

[IndyRob]

I had a tenderloin on Monday from the downtown restaruant "Ed and Marges' Too"

Simply amazing.

[dog-ring]

Oh man, don't make me choose Chicken Fried Steak all smothered in gravy with fried taters smothered in gravy or tenderloins. You can get both at Charlie Browns on Main Street in Speedway

[Racemind]

Actually, Cracker Barrel does a decent CFS.

[step33T]

The Iron Skillet on I-70 at the Stuckey's Truck Stop located about halfway between STL and KC does an excellent Chicken Fried Steak.

Another excellent Chicken Fried Steak can be had at the Wildman Cabin Bar in Indian Hills Colorado. TINY little place appears to be run by granola types. VERY good eats.

[2fast4u]

why do they call it chicken fried steak? I don't think there's any chicken or steak in it at all.

one thing about CFS though - you can get it in just about every state in the union...

[GH]

how bout a horse shoe? i toggle back and forth between a good horse shoe and a tenderloin.

[Lucky161]

Slightly off topic. Growing up most restaurants offered both a chicken fried steak and a breaded veal cutlet. And as I recall the breading was different on the two, with the BVC having a darker color than the CFS. I liked both, but prefered the BVC. It usually cost about a dime more. That should date me. My dad preferred the CFS and many time we would each order our favorite only to notice that there wasn't much difference. Once coming home from Texas World Speedway we stopped at a busy diner and ordered up. This was one of those times that they seemed to be the same steak. So we asked the waitress what the difference was. She didn't know and went to the kitchen to ask the cook. The answer was the CFS was put on the plate and covered with gravy and the BVC had gravy under it! They were both good, but I wonder about a cook that doesn't know there is a difference between beef and veal.

[hwc]

Originally posted by 2fast4u:
<STRONG>why do they call it chicken fried steak? I don't think there's any chicken or steak in it at all.</STRONG>

Because, properly prepared, it is a piece of steak, pounded thin, and fried like chicken.

Now, if anyone want to debate about how to fry chicken...I learned to fry mine from my grandmother who fried it for her Sunday smorgasboard restaurant at her farm just east of Rockville.

Food TV has a bit of a fraud of an Asian/American chef named Ming Tsai. He did his version of "chicken fried steak" one day -- which looked wretched by the way. He said that he always thought chicken fried steak was fried in chicken fat until his show's researchers corrected him. Yeachhh.

[mattndallas]

If I recall correctly, the CFS at Saltgrass chain restraunts in Texas are as big as a platter!!

CFS & eggs, bisquits and gravy, pancakes, hashbrowns.....PERFECT breakfast.

[mattndallas]

Originally posted by hwc:
<STRONG>I learned to fry mine from my grandmother who fried it for her Sunday smorgasboard restaurant at her farm just east of Rockville.
</STRONG>

Rockville where?

[jetdoc]

I'm going to date myself now too, but in the 70's there was a restaraunt in Houston called the "Longhorn Cafe" Man they had the BEST CFS I've ever eaten. CFS and ice cold Lone Star beer. When in TX, it doesn't get any better than that. However, outside of TX, it's TENDERLOINS, hands down!!!

[indyracer56]

Originally posted by Racemind:
<STRONG>Actually, Cracker Barrel does a decent CFS.</STRONG>

I have seen those being served, and they always looked like a greasy steak topped off with greasy gravy to me!

[2fast4u]

Originally posted by hwc:
Because, properly prepared, it is a piece of steak, pounded thin, and fried like chicken.

aha, silly me. I've eaten many of those little critters, especially during my years living in alabama (heart of dixie ), but would never have dreamed they were actually steaks at any point in their existence.

now I'm curious - anybody know what kind of steak should be used to create a proper CFS?

[step33T]

I'm guessing that "breakfast steak". Whatever that is?

Though I'm no cook. They just look similar.

[hwc]

Originally posted by mattndallas:
<STRONG>

Rockville where?</STRONG>

Indiana, of course.

Much of the farmland that was in the family went underwater when they built the big lake. However, my grandparents had a 100 acre farm in Hollansburg, immediately west of the resevoir -- you'd take the first rigth after crossing the lake to get there.

For many years, they had a Sunday "all you can eat" smorgasboard restaurant.

[hwc]

Originally posted by 2fast4u:
<STRONG>now I'm curious - anybody know what kind of steak should be used to create a proper CFS?</STRONG>

Depends how good you want them to be. For the best chicken fried steak, you'd pound a piece of tenderloin or filet mignon. Ribeye works pretty well, too.

Otherwise, just use any piece of steak or slice of beef you would throw on the grill or roast in the oven. It literally could be anything, but the tougher cuts from the shoulders are going to produce a tougher result.

Most chicken fried steak served in inexpensive "family style" or roadside eateries probably isn't made from a very good cut of beef. Most of those probably use some kind of cut of chuck (from the front shoulder) or round steak (from the back shoulder). Pounding it helps break down the muscle and tenderize it a bit.

A slice from an "eye of round roast" or an "eye round steak" would probably be pretty traditional.

Authentic "Texas" flavor would require a generous amount of Ancho chile powder (or commerical chili powder) in the seasoning for the beef and the flour.

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: hwc ]

[2wheelshortacar]

Why not both?

If you could find a bun big enough, double deck it!!

[IndyJim]

I had the chicken fried steak at Chili's the other night, and it was the best I had ever had.

But in a few weeks, I will try my first tenderloin at the track. To go to the race and not eat one after reading about it for months would be insane and downright irresponsible in my opinion.

[hwc]

Originally posted by Lucky161:
<STRONG>Slightly off topic. Growing up most restaurants offered both a chicken fried steak and a breaded veal cutlet. And as I recall the breading was different on the two, with the BVC having a darker color than the CFS.</STRONG>

Breaded veal cutlet is dipped in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. It's basically an adaptation of an Italian dish: Veal Milanese which is essentially the same thing as Weinerschnitzel from an area of Austria/Germany just over the mountains from northern Italy and Milan.

Chicken fried steak or pork tenderloin is dipped in flour, then egg, then flour. Both of these seem to be American originals. I don't recall any similar dishes from other parts of the world that are exactly the same.

[hoop-98]

Here are some good spots for CFS in Texas.

Cottonwood Cafe
Hwy 71 W.
La Grange, Texas

Goodson's Cafe
Tomball, Texas

Bluebonnet Cafe
705 S 25th
Temple
Since 1948.

Roger's Round Top Cafe
Town Square
Round Top

Chicken fried steak and homemade pies. Its hard to argue with seating for 38 in a town with a population of 80.

Feed Mill Restaurant
201 N. Main
Bonham

The original Goodson's back behind the high school was to die for. You could hear them hammering the round steaks a mile away. You could cut it with a fork (The CFS), and it was as big as one of those big dinner platters. Bossy waitress with tatoos kept the crowds in order till u could sit down, and don't linger too long after ya finish.

The new one has good CFS but has sanitized the atmosphere.


rh

[GeorgetownRoader]

All things being equal, I'd rather be in Rockville, Maryland.

[Bowtie]

Originally posted by hoop-98:
<STRONG>

Goodson's Cafe
Tomball, Texas

</STRONG>

I had one today from Goodson's.


Don't forget about Hickory Hollow. On Fairbanks-N. Houston. They have the biggest CFS in the area. I have been going there for 30 years.

[Racewriter]

There is only one solution to this controversy, one I implement frequently. That is, take that wonderful chicken fried steak, top it with cheese, and put it on a bun or Texas toast like a tenderloin. Top it with your favorite condiments, and enjoy! There are a number of good restaurants around here that serve a great "CFS sandwich."

[PHJIndy]

Our priest did an entire homily about chicen fried steak. I sure miss that man! He was killed in an auto accident back in '95!

He never missed the race!