Bachelor Meal Chapter 4: Kettle “Fried” Steak Sandwich

[Jed.cook]

So you can take the boy outa' Oklahoma, but...

I've lived in Colorado now for about 20 years now, and there're several things I miss about Oklahoma: fried onion burgers, beautiful ditzy girls who say "Y'all" and "Fixin" as if everyone in the world knows what they're talking about, menus that contain a "vegetable free" option instead of the "gluten free" one that's become so ubiquitous around these parts. But honestly, if I had to pick one thing that I've missed the most about Oklahoma, it's a good chicken-fried steak sandwich.

Sure, the Centennial State borders Oklahoma with a small stretch of a few miles, so there's enough of a connection there to run across the occasional steak sandwich on a menu, or a guy in a cowboy hat skiing in jeans, or a lawsuit about trafficking legal weed across state lines, etc. But there're no restaurants here KNOWN for their steak sandwiches. (Make it a point to stop in at Del Rancho on your next drive across the Sooner State's portion of I-40.) So when I discovered @troy's recipe for kettle fried chicken a few months ago, I saw hope on the horizon.

To say the Vortex (well, let's be honest, my "Poortex") has changed the way I cook chicken on the kettle would be an understatement. As many have said before me, it's almost too easy. Could the recipe for perfect "almost fried" chicken batter transfer to my favorite Okie sandwich, given the proper amount of beef tenderization?

Well, it's been a journey, but with the wife & kids out of town for a week, and plenty of high octane Colorado beers to fuel my confidence, I discovered something I'm proud to call ALMOST as good as the real deal. Here's the fourth installment of my bachelor BBQ experiments- what a good buddy has now dubbed, "Jed's Twelve Nights of Meatmas." (It's really only about seven nights, but I bet I can cram twelve nights' worth of meat entrees into seven.)

I started with four cube steaks from the grocery store. Yeah, I ate two of them tonight. I mean, I cooked four. I'm not gonna' eat 'em all, right? No, seriously, I'm asking, AM I gonna' eat all four? (Don't judge.) Luckily, I had a couple good friends show up tonight, beer-in-hand, to eat the other two, or at least talk me down from eating them myself. Either way, I'm pretty sure in order to get out of their respective houses, they told their wives I was suicidal, which is not far off considering I'd just eaten two of these monstrosities. In Colorado, the healthiest state in the Union, that might be a low-level misdemeanor.

So without further adieu, I present to you a picture tutorial of the Kettle Fried Steak Sandwich. (With fries taboot!) These were cooked on Beyoncé, my go-to 26er. Looks like I'm limited to 10 pics for this initial post, but I have a few more. Please feel free to ask me any questions. When I wake from my food & IPA coma, I'll be be happy to respond & post more pics/details about the cook. I'm pretty sure this is gonna' be a thing.



-Jed

[HoosierKettle]

That looks incredible! How did you do the fries?


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[Mr.CPHo]

That. Looks. Awesome!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[VivaTerlingua]

That's just wonderful. Great job! 


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[Jed.cook]

That looks incredible! How did you do the fries?


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

Chopped up a couple russets & soaked in cold water for about 20 min. Tossed in olive oil & added a little kosher salt. Turned a couple times throughout the cook, and it took about an hour to get them done. I was expecting it to take more like 30 min, so I think next time I'm gonna' try and get the temp up a little higher. Probably add more coals to the Poortex & possibly put a fan under the bottom vents. (Getting as much O2 as possible in there can sometimes be an issue at 5K' elevation.)


-Jed

[Big Dawg]

Down here (the Carolinas) we call it Country Fried Steak.  We usually smother it in gravy, but those sandwiches look really good ! ! !





BD

[LiquidOcelot]

Down here (the Carolinas) we call it Country Fried Steak.  We usually smother it in gravy, but those sandwiches look really good ! ! !





BD

My southern Arkansas family call it country fried also. How ever its called smothered in gravy is the way. I need to kettle fry something one of these days

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[Jed.cook]

Chicken or "country" (I've heard it called both out here) fried steak with mashed potatoes, both smothered in white cream gravy is very common in OK as well. The steak sandwich is a delicious twist that's (slightly) less heavy without the gravy. Next time you're at a restaurant that serves both burgers & C.F. steaks, go off menu and ask 'em to make you one of these with tomatoes, lettuce, and a slathering of mayo. Toast the bun, and you won't be disappointed!


-Jed

[SMOKE FREAK]

breaded meat on the grill is one of my favorite cooks...

Ya done that up right...

Ummm....Care to share the breading recipe?

[Jed.cook]

It's what @Troy uses for his kettle fried chicken. https://youtu.be/wF1TuLBRBr0


-Jed

[therod]

I've been thinking about doing steak that way with my vortex for awhile. But haven't yet. Might be the motivation I need.