DFF anyone?

So this weekend I gave deep fat frying a chance, as that is not something I have ever done. I made chicken fried steak! It was a lot easier than I expected, and the whole dinner turned out nicely, including a pan gravy (which I've also never done before!) Dinner together was chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and salad. Here's what you need for the chicken fried steak and gravy. (I just used instant mashed potatoes this time)

2 1/4 tsp salt, divided

1 3/4 tsp ground black pepper, divided

6 (4 oz) cube steaks

1 sleeve of saltine crackers, finely crushed

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground red pepper

4 3/4 cups milk, divided

2 large eggs

3 1/2 cups peanut oil

1. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp each of salt and black pepper over steaks. Combine cracker crumbs, 1 cup flour, baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, and red pepper. Whisk together 3/4 cup milk and eggs. Dredge steaks in cracker crumb mixture; dip in milk mixture and dredge again in cracker mixture. Pour oil into a 12 in skiller and heat to 360 degrees. (Do not use a nonstick skillet). Fry steaks, in batches, 10 minutes. Turn and fry each batch 4-5 minutes more or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Keep steaks warm in a 225 oven. Carefully drain hot oil, reserving cooked bits and 1 Tbsp drippings in skillet.

2. Whisk together remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper and 4 cups milk. Pour mixture into skillet; cook over medium high heat, whisking constantly, 10-12 minutes or until thickened. Serve gravy with steaks and mashed potatoes.

With this being my first experience with true frying, I wasn't really sure what to expect. The batter was good on the steaks, although the cube steak was a little chewy. The gravy took a lot longer than 10-12 minutes and I ended up having to add a little extra flour to hurry the thickening up. The gravy also didn't have a ton of flavor so I added some extra salt, pepper and onion powder. Overall the experience was good, no burns or fires (always a concern for me, which is why I've never really tried frying before now). :) A very heavy meal to be sure, but a tasty one as well!