So long schnitzel, London is falling for chicken fried steak
If you don’t know what chicken fried steak is already, then the name doesn’t help you out much — there’s no chicken in it for a start.
But it won’t remain a mystery for long given that it’s quickly becoming a feature on the menus of restaurants across town.
Also known as country steak, it is a favourite dish from America’s Deep South and sees bavette steak coated with seasoned flour and pan-fried then topped with gravy.
It’s fairly similar to a schnitzel, but made with beef instead of veal — in fact, it is thought that the dish came about due to German and Austrian immigrants to Texas in the 19th century, who brought with them a fondness for Wiener Schnitzel.
The misleading name comes, it is presumed, from the fact that the steak has been coated in a similar way to fried chicken.
Some might find the idea of fried steak sacrilegious, but many more are falling for its breaded charms — including the team behind The Fat Bear who have previously worked at Hawksmoor and run decadent Beefsteak Bacchanalia evenings.
The dish takes top billing at The Fat Bear’s residency upstairs at The Rising Sun pub near Blackfriars, where it is made with rib-eye steak and served with sweet potato mash along with country gravy (pictured below via Yelp).
Also known as Southern white gravy, this is something of a sensation in itself, being made from a generous amount of bacon fat thickened and blended with milk.
Chicken fried steak has just arrived at Soho chicken restaurant Ma' Plucker, too. Here it is served with a homemade béchamel sauce, crispy chives and chicken skin gravy.
It’s also on the menu at Haggerston barbecue joint Duke’s Brew & Que, at Soho’s Pitt Cue Co and at The Bayou in Camden.
Expect to see a lot more of it soon — after all, given both steak and fried chicken are more popular than ever in the capital, combining the two must be the next logical step.
The best food in London
Follow Ben Norum on Twitter @BenNorum
Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout