Copycat Cracker Barrel Country Fried Steak Recipe

Cracker Barrel is a country-themed restaurant known for many things, ranging from its breakfast foods to what many consider to be the hands-down best menu item at Cracker Barrel, the Chicken n' Dumplins. But if you were to venture into a Cracker Barrel location around dinnertime, you might be tempted to order another popular menu item, the country fried steak. Featuring a breaded and fried steak topped with sawmill gravy and your choice of hearty sides, Cracker Barrel's take on country fried steak doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel, but that's precisely what makes it so familiar and comforting.

If you can't make it to the country kitchen, then bringing the country to your own kitchen is the next best thing. With recipe developer Julianne De Witt's copycat Cracker Barrel country fried steak recipe, you might find that a home-cooked version of the classic dish is even better than the real deal. As De Witt tells us, "Country fried steak with sawmill gravy has been a popular Cracker Barrel menu item since the 1950s." Indeed, it's an absolute menu staple at the country-themed chain, and in her homemade version, De Witt stuck to that classic fried steak and creamy gravy formula, pairing it with simple sides like carrots and green beans. "It's often served with buttermilk biscuits or corn muffins," De Witt notes, should you want to delve even deeper into the Cracker Barrel theming when plating your meal.

Any good country fried steak starts with the steak itself, and for this recipe, De Witt opted for round steaks. "I like to use inside round for the meat and tenderize it myself, that way I can control the size and thickness of the steak," she explains. However, if you wanted to opt for a cut even more tried-and-true to Cracker Barrel's approach, you could opt for cube steak instead. You'll also need some salt and pepper to season the steaks and some oil to pan-fry them in.

As for the country fried steak breading, you'll need flour, finely crushed Saltines, cornstarch, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a beaten egg, and buttermilk. "I add crushed saltines and cornstarch to amp up the crispiness of the breading," De Witt explains of her unique inclusions. Finally, to make the sawmill gravy, you'll simply need butter, flour, whole milk, salt, and pepper.

Mix the flour, saltines, cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a shallow bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the egg and buttermilk.

Preheat the oven to 200 F.

Using the textured side of a mallet, pound both sides of the steaks evenly, rotating them to keep their shape.

Season both sides of the steaks to taste with salt and pepper.

Dip the steaks, one at a time, into the flour mixture.

Gently shake off the excess and coat the steaks in the egg and buttermilk mixture.

Dip the steaks again into the flour mixture, pressing the breading so that it adheres to the steaks. Allow the steaks to rest for 10 minutes.

Add the oil to a frying pan and place it over medium-high heat.

Place the steaks in the pan and cook for 4 minutes until evenly browned.

Flip the steaks and continue cooking for an additional 4 minutes.

Put the steaks on a rack-lined baking sheet and place them in the oven to keep warm.

Add 1 tablespoon of the drippings and the butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and warm to melt the butter.

Whisk in the flour and cook the roux for 4 minutes.

Add the milk and whisk vigorously until thickened.

Add the salt and pepper, stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Plate the steaks and serve with the gravy.

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There are certain mistakes that everyone makes when making country fried steak, but fortunately, De Witt has some tips to ensure that your dish turns out as delicious (and close to Cracker Barrel's version) as possible. For starters, make sure that you're working with the right cut of meat, and make sure it's tenderized. "Use cube steak or tenderize a tougher cut of meat," De Witt advises, adding, "Use the textured side of the mallet and pound gently to ½ inch thick."

Also, while this isn't necessarily something that Cracker Barrel does, De Witt strongly recommends adding cornstarch to your steak breading. "It creates a crisp, light crust, and because it has no gluten, it stays crispier for longer after frying," she explains. Speaking of frying, you don't want to use so much oil that this becomes a deep-fried recipe, but you also want to make sure that there is enough oil to get that desired fried crispiness. "Ensure the oil covers the bottom of the pan. This way the oil touches all the steak, promoting even cooking and browning," De Witt explains. And, before you start frying any steaks, make sure that you let them rest with that coating on them for at least 10 minutes to help ensure that the coating will stay put.

Of all the cuts of steak out there, cube steak is not one that's exactly renowned for being super high-end or expensive. In fact, cube steak — which typically comes from the top or bottom round of the cow — is quite tough on its own, which is why it's already been tenderized by the time you buy it from the store. It's also not a super fatty cut, so pre-tenderization helps to ensure that the steak doesn't dry out when you cook it. Cube steak probably isn't something you'd want to cook up in lieu of a filet mignon dinner, but it certainly has its place in the culinary world. As De Witt explains, "Cube steak is perfect for fast frying and is used in dishes such as country or chicken fried steak or Swiss steak."

Of course, as you likely noticed, De Witt didn't use cube steak for this recipe, but instead used the very similar round steak instead — a cut that works just as well here, so long as you tenderize the steaks yourself, as De Witt did in this recipe. She notes that you could also use bottom round or eye of round steaks instead. If there's a type of steak that you should avoid, however, it would be those leaner, more tender cuts. "Leaner and more tender cuts like ribeye and strip loin should be avoided as the extra marbling and softer muscle fibers won't hold up to the mallet," De Witt explains.

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