Chicken-Fried Steak & Gravy

From EatingWell: September/October 2008, EatingWell for a Healthy Heart Cookbook — Subscribe Now!

Can you really make a chicken-fried steak that isn't loaded with saturated fat and salt? Absolutely. We skip the deep frying, but with rich country gravy as consolation, you won't miss it. Our pan-fried, crispy cube steak has less than one-third of the fat and about 80 percent less sodium.

READER'S COMMENT:

"I really enjoyed making this "chicken fried steak" it was almost as good as the real one but I did have to tweak the gravy as the instructions for that didn't quite make sense to me. Anyway, it was pretty good.. I'll definetly be making...

4 servings

Active Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Nutrition Profile

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided
1 teaspoon paprika
1 pound cube steak, cut into 4 portions
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup half-and-half

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Place all-purpose flour on a large plate. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Whisk cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch and paprika in another shallow dish. Season both sides of steak with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Dredge the steak in the flour, shaking off excess; dip in the egg whites, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and add 2 pieces of the steak; cook until browned on both sides, turning once, 3 to 5 minutes total. Transfer the steak to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 2 pieces of steak. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, add broth to the pan and boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk water and the remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in half-and-half; season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Serve the steak topped with the gravy.

Nutrition

Per serving: 315 calories; 13 g fat (3 g sat, 7 g mono); 57 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrates; 33 g protein; 1 g fiber; 312 mg sodium; 379 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Selenium (50% daily value), Potassium & Zinc (15% dv).

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 starch, 3 lean meat, 1 fat