Better Than Grandma's Chicken Fried Steak with Cajun Gravy
A true Southern classic, and I'm not shy about the name: this is better than Grandma's. Cube steaks double-dredged through a seasoned flour and egg wash, pan-fried in avocado oil, then baked through while a Cajun-spiked white gravy comes together in the drippings. Mashed potatoes and green beans on the side are the only right answer.
If you watch the video, you'll catch me breaking my own rule. I tell you to pour the milk into the gravy slowly — the slower you do it, the better — and then I lose my patience and dump the whole thing in at once. So if that happens to you too, do what I did: stay above it, adjust the temperature as you see, and keep whisking until it smooths out. Mine still passed the taste test — all I could say was "my goodness."
The other move worth stealing happens while the steaks brown: I've already got the oven going at 350 so the finished ones stay warm in there while the last two get their turn in the pan. And when I pour the gravy into a gravy bowl at the end, that's just me being fancy — you don't have to do that part.
Watch me make it — video from my YouTube channel
The recipe
Better Than Grandma's Chicken Fried Steak with Cajun Gravy
Ingredients
Steak
- 4 (4-ounce) cube steaks
Dredge
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Egg Wash
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
For Frying
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (or any high-smoke-point oil)
Gravy
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Cajun or Creole seasoning, to taste
How to Make It
- Combine the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and mix well.
- Whisk the eggs and whole milk together in a separate shallow bowl until evenly blended.
- Dip a cube steak in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.
- Transfer the steak to the egg wash, flipping to coat both sides.
- Return the steak to the flour for a final coating, shake off excess, and set aside.
- Repeat steps 3–5 for all four steaks.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Heat the avocado oil in a pan over medium-high heat until hot.
- Place two steaks in the pan and brown 3 to 4 minutes per side; remove and hold warm in the oven while you cook the remaining two steaks.
- Once all steaks are browned and moved to the oven, leave the drippings and any remaining oil in the pan.
- Whisk the 1/4 cup of flour into the pan drippings over the heat.
- Slowly pour in the 2 cups of whole milk while whisking constantly, pouring gradually for a smoother result.
- Continue whisking until all lumps are gone and the gravy is smooth, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Season the gravy with salt, pepper, and Cajun or Creole seasoning to taste.
- Serve the steaks topped with gravy alongside mashed potatoes and green beans.
Curtis's Tips
- Cube steaks can be found at your local International Market.
- Ingredients as given serve 4; adjust proportions for more servings.
- Keep your station clean and everything close by while you work.
- For the gravy, the slower you add the milk the smoother it comes out — but if you lose patience and add it all at once, stay over it, keep whisking, and adjust the heat; it will smooth out.
- If the finished gravy is thicker than you like, stir in a little more milk to loosen it.
- I add Creole seasoning to the gravy for a nice little pop so it won't be bland.
- The written recipe in the video description uses 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper in place of the 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning in the dredge, and specifies vegetable oil or bacon grease as the frying fat rather than avocado oil.
Why this works
Each cube steak makes the trip through the breading twice — seasoned flour, egg wash, then back into the flour for the final coating — and I shake the excess flour off every time before it moves on. Once the steaks come out and head into the warm oven, the drippings stay right where they are: the flour gets whisked straight into them, and the milk goes in slowly on top — the slower you pour, the better it smooths out. And don't let the gravy leave the pan unseasoned — salt, pepper, and a little Cajun or Creole is what keeps a white gravy from going bland.
FAQ
My gravy turned out lumpy — can I save it?
Yes — I saved mine. I got ahead of myself, lost my patience, and dumped all the milk in at once instead of pouring it slowly. Stay above it, adjust the temperature as you see, and keep whisking. The gravy takes about five to seven minutes to cook, so don't get discouraged — keep whisking until all those lumps are down and it's a smooth texture.
The gravy came out really thick — did I mess up?
No — mine comes out thicker than most people might like, and I say so right in the video. Just add a little bit more milk and stir until it's where you want it. While you're at it, give it a taste: salt, pepper, and if you want to be extra, a little Cajun or Creole seasoning of your favorite choice.
Where do you find cube steak?
Your local international market — that's where I send you in the video. I picked up four 4-ounce cube steaks, and that's enough for four people. Want to feed more? Just adjust the ingredients to your preference.
Do I have to fry in avocado oil?
No. Avocado oil is what I like using, but any high-smoke-point oil will do the job. The written recipe I posted alongside the video lists vegetable oil or bacon grease as the frying fat, so those work too.
Cajun or Creole — which seasoning goes where?
Both get a turn in this one. The dredge takes a teaspoon of your favorite Cajun seasoning — and the written version of the recipe swaps that for half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper if you'd rather go that way. The gravy is seasoned to taste, and there I used Creole; it gave it a nice little pop.
Estimated nutrition, per serving (recipe makes about 4 servings): ~590 calories · 37 g protein · 36 g fat · 29 g carbs. Computed from the ingredient list using standard reference values — an estimate, not a lab analysis; your exact brands and portions will vary.
