Tonight’s dinner entree is courtesy of Ree Drummond, better known as The Pioneer Woman. We’re having the Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Fried Steak #2 from episode “Deli Deliberation“. This was one of the recipes she had the cowboys try out for the deli in The Mercantile. Chicken Fried Steak has long been a favorite of mine. I take after my dad in that respect. Having said that, this is the first time Eric’s ever made chicken fried steak for me in our 14 years of marriage. Is that weird or what?
The Chicken Fried Steak #2 recipe is available on the Food Network website.
I must confess, I ate a bite before Eric had his plate together and was at the table. It just looked too good to resist. I must also mention, this is NOT a low calorie meal. But you’ve probably already figured that out. We promise we’ll make something light soon!
Eric’s Tips & Tricks For Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Fried Steak #2
I don’t have a lot of tips for this meal. It’s all pretty straightforward.
- Since there were only two of us eating, I cut the recipe in half.
- You can go searching for “cracker meal” in the store or you can just crush up saltines. Same thing.
- I used half and half instead of whole milk because half and half lasts longer in the fridge. (We don’t drink a lot of milk, but we do drink coffee!) There’s no noticeable difference in taste.
- Ree says to use the tenderizing side of a meat mallet, but I use this needle meat tenderizer and it does a better job.
Eating It
Here’s what we ate:
Nel: 1 chicken fried steak, half a potato
Eric: 1 chicken fried steak, half a potato, and baby broccoli
Dinner Banter
Eric: Here, take a picture of my plate.
Nel: Yeah, it has more color.
Eric: That’s cuz I like green things, unlike you. This is a lot of meat, so it’s good to have something green to push it through.
Nel: Eww. We’re supposed to be making this appetizing.
Eric: The saltine crackers really give it a nice crunch.
Nel: Perfect amount of crunch. I never would have thought of using saltine crackers.
Eric: Me neither.
We had an audience during this meal, which isn’t unusual. He was hoping something would fall from the table, but he was sorely disappointed.
Nutritional Information
Well, the Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Fried Steak #2 is gonna break the ol’ calorie bank, as well as just about every other nutritional measure, but it’s soooo worth it (every once in a while). We won’t be eating this meal very often for that very reason.
Each serving is 10oz.
923 calories per serving
68g carbs
37g fat
51g protein
736mg sodium
3g sugar
Parting Thoughts
Eric’s Rating: 
(4 out of 5 plates)
It would be 5 if it wasn’t for all the calories.
Nel’s Rating: 
(3.75 out of 5 plates)
Agreed. It would be 5 if it wasn’t for all the calories. Also, 10 oz of meat is a bit much for me. The taste and texture is excellent, however.
Will we be making this again? Yes, but not very often.
If you’ve tried Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Fried Steak #2 recipe, please leave your tips, tricks, and comments below in our comments section.
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