Chicken Fried Steak Bites

Since I'm in a bit of a deep fry mode, I decided to try chicken fried steak bites. Martin really liked these and I know this because he told me so. Well, not exactly. What he actually said was, "I really enjoyed this meal!" I thought that was such a sweet Martin way of giving the meal a compliment. So, definitely this recipe was a success.

Now if I could just figure out how to go through the process of  dipping the meat in 1)flour 2)egg/milk mixture and then 3) back to flour  without having my hands completely covered in sticky glop.  Why don’t cooks mention this when they give out these recipes? I prepped all my ingredients, and had each bowl strategically placed by the fry pan, but still ended up with a huge mess. I’ll want to make these again so Martin can "enjoy" them but before the next frying session I think I’m going to have to do some serious googling for tips on how to avoid all the flour-egg-milk mix mess.

Chicken Fried Steak Bites

Ingredients:
1 pound cubed steak
pinch of salt, per steak
pinch of pepper, per steak

Batter:
1 egg
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1  1/2 cups buttermilk

Drege:
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt

Gravy:
1 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk

Directions:
1. Season steak with a pinch of salt and pepper, then cut steak into bite-size pieces.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the batter ingredients. Whisk until mixed through.
3. Preheat about an inch of oil to 350 degrees in a heavy, high-sided skillet or pan.
4. In a medium bowl, add flour and salt. Place steak into the flour, then batter, and then into the flour again.
5. Lower the steak bites into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan.
6. Cook each side for 4 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Transfer bites onto a drying rack and season with salt.
8. Discard the oil in the pan, but leave some for the gravy. (About 2 T). In the same pan, add flour, milk, and salt and mix until it thickens.
9. Dip the steaks into the gravy and enjoy.