Recipe - Braided Bread

STEAK
2 pound Roundsteak, cut or sliced up One half inch
thick and twicetenderized
by the butcher
2 cup Allpurpose flour
2 teaspoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper
Three fourths teaspoon Salt
1 One half cup Buttermilk
1 lg Egg
1 tablespoon Hot red pepper sauce
2 Garlic cloves, minced
Crisco for deep frying

CLASSIC CREAM GRAVY
One fourth cup Pan drippings
3 tablespoon Allpurpose flour
2 cup Evaporated milk
1 cup Unsalted beef stock
One half teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste

OPTIONAL
Mashed potatoes
Homemade buttermilk biscuits

Cut steak into 4 equal portions. Pound until each is about One fourth inch
thick. Place flour in a shallow bowl. In a second dish, stir together
baking powder, soda, pepper and salt; mix in buttermilk, egg, pepper sauce
and garlic. The mixture will be thin.
Dredge each steak first in flour, then in batter. Dunk steaks back into
flour and dredge well, patting in the flour until the surface of the meat
is dry.
Add enough shortening to a deep castiron skillet or Dutch oven to deep
fry steaks in at least 4 inches of fat. Bring temperature of shortening to
325 degrees. Fry the steaks, pushing them under the fat or turning them as
they bob to the surface, for 7 to 8 minutes, or until they are golden
brown. Drain steaks on paper towels and transfer to a platter. Keep warm
while preparing Classic Cream Gravy.
Divide steaks among 4 plates and serve with mashed potatoes and gravy.
CLASSIC CREAM GRAVY:
After cookingf chickenfried steak or similar dish, pour off the top fat
through a strainer, leaving about One half cup pan drippings in the bottom of
the skillet. Return any browned cracklings from the strainer to the skillet
before starting the gravy.
Place skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, stirring to avoid
lumps. Add milk and stock. Simmer until liquid is thickened and the raw
flour taste is gone, about 3 minutes. Stir the gravy up from the bottom
frequently, scraping up any browned bits. Season with pepper and salt.
Makes about 3 cups.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini