Chef notes
Chicken-fried steak was one of the first dishes I learned how to make as a kid, and one I made often because I love it. Cream gravy is a traditional sauce, but the addition of the hatch green chile gives the dish a little spice with some earthy freshness.
Technique tip: You can tenderize the steak at home. Using a sharp paring knife, place each steak on a cutting board and score at 1-inch intervals against the grain, cutting 1/4-inch deep into the meat; flip and repeat. Then place the steaks in a gallon-sized zip-top bag, using a mallet or rolling pin gently pound to 1/4-inch thickness.
Swap option: Swap diced poblano pepper for green hatch chile if you cannot find them.
Ingredients
- 1 small head red cabbage
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup pickled jalapeños and carrots in escabeche, drained, with 3 tablespoons pickling liquid reserved, preferably Herdez brand
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- 2 pounds tenderized sirloin tip (flap steak) or round steak, cut into 12 pieces (about 2½ ounces each)
- 4 tablespoons Montreal-style steak seasoning
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 egg
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- oil, for frying, preferably peanut or canola
- 12 slider rolls, like mini kaiser, potato or Hawaiian rolls
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon flour
- 1/2 cup canned hatch green chile, medium heat
- 1½ cup milk
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- freshly cracked black pepper
Preparation
For the Pickled Jalapeño Slaw:
1.Using a food processor or by hand, shred cabbage into fine ribbons (roughly 3 cups) and place in a medium bowl. Toss with salt.
2.Meanwhile, pulse jalapeños and carrots in food processor along with the reserved pickling liquid.
3.Mix cabbage with jalapeño mixture and cilantro, and refrigerate until ready to serve, or overnight.
For the Chicken-Fried Steak Sliders:
1.Preheat the oven to 300 F.
2.Place the steaks on a tray or platter and season the steak on both sides with the steak seasoning.
3.In a shallow baking dish, add the flour, cornstarch, seasoning and spices, and mix to combine. In another shallow baking dish, whisk the egg and buttermilk together.
4.Working in two batches, place 6 pieces of the steak into the flour mixture, let the meat sit in the flour mixture for a minute, patting the flour well into the meat on all sides. Using a fork, lift the meat from the flour, shake well to remove the excess and then place in the egg wash mixture. Turn to coat well, lift from the egg mixture and place back into the flour mixture to coat. There should be a shaggy coating of flour on the meat. Place onto a baking sheet lined with a wire rack. Continue with remaining meat.
5.In a large cast-iron pan, fill with 3 inches of cooking oil and heat over medium heat. Place a pinch of the flour mixture in the oil; you are looking for the flour to lightly sizzle. Using tongs, carefully lower the half of the breaded steaks into the oil. Increase heat to medium-high, if needed, to keep a strong sizzle. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the steaks have a nice golden-brown color around the edges, then flip the steaks to continue cooking another 2 minutes. Remove the steaks to a baking sheet with a wire rack. Repeat with remaining steaks.
6.Once all the steaks are fried, place them in the warmed oven (200 F) for holding. Using a serrated knife, cut the buns in half, wrap the buns in foil and place in the oven with the steaks. Plan to make the Green Chile Gravy while the steaks are in the oven.
For the Green Chile Gravy:
1.Drain the frying oil from the cast-iron pan but leave any browned bits in the pan. Heat over medium heat.
2.Add the butter and garlic to the pan, sweat for 30 seconds, then add flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the green chiles and stir well to combine. Add milk and salt and whisk together continuously until thickened, about 5 minutes.
3.Remove from the heat, add sour cream and lots of fresh black pepper. Reserve in a small bowl.
To assemble the sliders:
Remove the buns and chicken-fried steak from the oven.
On a platter, arrange the bottom buns evenly. Top each bun with a piece of chicken fried steak, spoon Green Chile Gravy over the top and top with the Pickled Jalapeño Slaw and the top bun. Serve immediately.
