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Printable recipe below! Today, we're diving into some real American food history, exploring how to make the best cowboy sandwich you'll ever taste, inspired by a classic diner on historic Route 66 in Oklahoma. This journey is about food history, cowboy cooking and comfort food!
Used in this video:
Blackstone griddle: https://blackstoneproducts.com/collections/original-griddles/products/original-36-griddle-airfryer-combo
Kent's Original Seasoning https://www.kentrollins.com/shop
DJI Mic 2 https://amzn.to/4ewAHAw
Cowboy Hat: Chazhatz.com
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Printable Recipe: https://kentrollins.com/blogs/beef/chicken-fried-steak-sandwich
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0:00
I Y'all come in here. I want you to hear
0:01
it.
0:02
That's the base for the best cowboy
0:04
sandwich you'll ever have down historic
0:07
Route 66. [music]
0:16
>> Okay, Kent. Give us the backstory on the
0:18
sandwich.
0:19
>> Well, if you are ever fortunate enough
0:22
to travel Route 66 and go through the
0:24
little town of Sayre, Oklahoma, there
0:27
was a diner out there on the north end
0:29
of town that said Opal's Diner.
0:32
Now, I'd never eat there before in my
0:34
life till I was about 10 years old and
0:36
we stopped in there after we'd been to a
0:37
PRCA radio
0:39
>> [music]
0:39
>> rodeo
0:41
in Elk City. We went in there and
0:43
everybody was saying and right at the
0:45
top of the little chalkboard it said
0:48
favorite special
0:50
hot steak sandwich.
0:53
So, we're going [music] down historic
0:54
Route 66. Come go with me as we recreate
0:57
this diner [music] special. Now, y'all
0:59
have seen me fix many chicken fried
1:02
steaks. Beat Bobby Flay with chicken
1:04
fried steak. Fed thousands of pounds of
1:06
them to cowboys, but it's still one of
1:08
my most most popular and most requested
1:10
meals. But, there's something y'all
1:12
ought to know before
1:13
>> I have a question. So, Opal's steak
1:15
sandwich was not actually like a New
1:17
York strip. It was a chicken fried
1:19
steak.
1:19
>> It was a piece of tenderized meat. Now,
1:22
I never knew what cut Opal used, but I'm
1:24
saying she probably used what I use,
1:26
which is top round or bottom round. Been
1:29
run through the cuber about three times.
1:31
You don't When you look at this, you
1:32
don't want to see any big old white
1:34
streaks of fat and gristle running
1:36
through there. The coating of the steak
1:38
or the dredge that you put on it is
1:40
nearly just important as the meat itself
1:42
because we want that good crispy crust
1:45
on there. So, to start off with, I got
1:47
about two cups all-purpose flour over
1:49
here. One Cackleberry Rooster Belt hen
1:52
fruit.
1:53
We're going to crack it right here.
1:55
We're going to give this to the
1:56
neighborhood possum.
1:58
I know he would like it. Let's go ahead
2:00
and give that egg a little mixing.
2:03
To that, we're going to add some
2:04
buttermilk.
2:06
I prefer it over milk when we're doing
2:08
this.
2:10
Cornstarch. Yes, it is. It's good for
2:13
thickening agents, but this helps stuff
2:15
bond to meat. So, we're going to give it
2:17
a little shake.
2:19
And to this two cups of flour, we're
2:20
going to give it a little shake.
2:23
Baking powder would be upset if it
2:25
didn't get to have an equal part as the
2:27
cornstarch did. We want this to be able
2:29
to pop just a little.
2:32
So, we're going to give it a little
2:33
shake, but also it goes in the dry.
2:39
That is finished. This is not.
2:42
Going to need a little original
2:43
seasoning of ours, and if you ain't got
2:45
that, salt, coarse ground black pepper,
2:47
little garlic powder, you'll be fixed
2:49
up. But, I'll be thinking to myself,
2:51
what would give it that good scraggly,
2:53
crispy, crunchy crust? A little bit of
2:56
this
2:58
in this.
3:00
Give it a little mixing.
3:03
Now, I'm using peanut oil today, and I
3:06
am pretty sure back then at 9 and 10
3:08
years old at Opal's, they were just pan
3:10
frying. I prefer a deep fried chicken
3:13
fried steak over anything in the world
3:15
because I think it just makes it cook
3:16
better. So,
3:18
does anybody know
3:20
where this piece of chicken fried meat
3:22
goes first? Oh, Shane, look. The little
3:25
bear in the corner right here has his
3:26
hand raised up. Tell him it's not a lie.
3:29
He says it goes in the dry first. He is
3:31
so smart. He has watched me cook many
3:33
things. So, get her in here in the dry.
3:37
Back in the wet we go.
3:39
Make sure, and I'm only got no gloves
3:41
today, so we're going to use these
3:43
tongs.
3:44
Get it really soaked in there well.
3:47
Back over here in the dry.
3:50
Make sure that everything is bonding
3:52
really well. Now, you're thinking to
3:54
yourself, look look I mean all that Look
3:56
at that. All that stuff is going to fry
3:58
up so crisp. But, are we through?
4:01
No, I think we should double baptize,
4:02
don't you? Yeah. Lightly coat. Lightly
4:05
coat. Back [snorts] in it goes.
4:08
Okay, bring it up here. Look at that
4:10
goodness.
4:12
Oh my gosh, a wire rack is a very
4:15
important thing at this time.
4:17
Lay it right there.
4:19
Let it rest just a minute. I would say
4:21
at least five because it needs to to set
4:24
there so everything bonds together
4:26
better. We'll get over here, check our
4:28
deep fryer oil, see what the temperature
4:30
is, and we'll go to frying.
4:32
Oil is heated to 350. Now, I use the
4:34
chef's temp and I think that's what you
4:36
ought to use cuz it gives me an accurate
4:37
reading every time. This has been on the
4:40
wire rack, remember? Drying out a
4:42
little.
4:43
Here we go. I I love this sound.
4:48
Woo! Music to my ears.
4:52
Mhm.
4:53
Now, this ain't going to take long,
4:54
maybe 3 to 4 minutes. Uh and I'd say
4:57
you're pretty close cuz remember them
4:58
steaks have been cubed so they're a
4:59
little thinner than what they'd be if
5:01
they're just like this. And it don't
5:03
hurt to flip them every once in a while,
5:05
but you don't want to flip them too
5:06
soon. But, if Shannon zoom in here, I
5:08
want you to see these little scraggly
5:10
crispies that are already coming to the
5:12
top. Oh my gosh, what a glorious day.
5:15
Thank [music] you, Jesus, for deep
5:17
fryers.
5:37
I want you to know I know it's crispy
5:38
[music] before I get there, but I want
5:39
y'all to hear this.
5:43
Chicken fry is resting over here.
5:46
Got my old Lodge Ware skillet out here.
5:48
Been having it on preheat low. I got me
5:50
some of that meat grease over yonder.
5:52
I'm going to pour it right in there.
5:53
That looks like that's about enough.
5:55
We're going to add a little butter that
5:58
is froze here pretty good it is.
6:00
I'd say about that much right there.
6:03
And we're going to let that melt. Just
6:05
sitting there. One of the most important
6:07
tools you can have for making gravy
6:09
isn't just fire in a cast iron skillet.
6:11
It is a spatula with holes in it or
6:14
slits. This way when you go to making
6:17
gravy you can make that flour smooth as
6:20
it can be. It won't be no lumps, bumps,
6:21
or contusions.
6:25
So, either you got one of them sifting
6:27
cans or you got a sifter.
6:29
Add you a little flour.
6:32
Sift it in here.
6:35
And it's going to have to cook a little
6:36
bit because we have to make a roux. I
6:39
usually about a quarter of a cup of
6:41
grease.
6:43
A really thin
6:44
tablespoon of butter.
6:47
And then the flour is probably pretty
6:49
close to three to four tablespoons.
6:53
I'm going to add just a tad more flour
6:55
cuz I think it needs it just for color
6:58
and it'll give us a a little better
6:59
consistency for that roux to thicken a
7:01
little faster.
7:03
But keep it on medium to medium low
7:06
heat.
7:07
The thickness has come on just a little.
7:09
That's what we're after. And you don't
7:10
want it like pancake batter thickness.
7:12
You just want to see it thicken up and
7:14
brown just a little. We've changed color
7:17
colors. We have changed colors here a
7:19
bit we have. It is time to go with some
7:22
milk. Now the thing that I think makes
7:24
gravy the best it can be is canned milk.
7:27
And I have used it on ranches for so
7:29
many years.
7:31
Look here. Look what's trying to form. A
7:33
lump. That's why you have this spatula
7:35
like this.
7:36
And if you need to thin it, that's why I
7:38
saved a little bit of that canned milk
7:40
there in the bottom. But you can thin it
7:42
with water as well.
7:44
This is when you need to turn your heat
7:46
down to low
7:48
because we got to let this cook till
7:50
everything thickens.
7:52
Go around them edges with that spatula,
7:54
get any clumps that might be forming
7:57
that look like sheetrock [music] mud.
7:59
And just keep stirring.
8:01
We are getting close. You may have also
8:04
heard the term sawmill gravy. It traces
8:08
back to the rough, resourceful cooking
8:10
of the 19th century logging camps and
8:13
frontier kitchens across the South.
8:15
[music] In sawmills and work camps,
8:17
cooks had to stretch the limited
8:18
ingredients to feed hungry laborers. The
8:21
name sawmill gravy likely comes from its
8:24
association with these logging camps
8:27
where meals had to be quick, sustaining,
8:29
and made from pantry staples. Over time,
8:32
it [music] became a staple in diners and
8:34
home kitchens, especially throughout the
8:37
South and along the [music] working
8:38
routes like Route 66.
8:41
Now, we ain't added no seasoning to this
8:43
at all. I'm going to use a little of our
8:44
original. If you ain't got it, then you
8:46
just get you some salt and pepper.
8:48
And your consistency of gravy depends on
8:50
you, but I like for mine to be able to
8:53
pour,
8:54
but also to be up be able to hold on to
8:56
that chicken fried. We are minutes away
8:58
from plating. Now,
9:00
Opal had this served up on a big old
9:02
thick piece of Texas toast, toasted just
9:05
right, had a lot of butter on it. I
9:07
mean, they'd put it on a flat griddle,
9:09
get it good toasted both sides. That was
9:11
the bottom, but it was the foundation on
9:13
which the building was completed.
9:18
Stretching more than 2,400 mi [music]
9:20
from Chicago to Santa Monica,
9:22
California,
9:23
Route 66 became known as the Main Street
9:26
of America. Established in 1926, it
9:29
[music] wasn't just a road, it was a
9:31
lifeline. It carried families chasing
9:34
opportunities, truckers hauling goods,
9:37
[music] and dreamers heading west to
9:39
find something better. For the Dust Bowl
9:41
years, it became a path of survival,
9:44
guiding thousands out of hardship and
9:46
into hope. And it wasn't only farmers
9:48
making that journey. During World War
9:50
II, that road was used to move troops
9:53
and equipment westward, keeping the
9:55
route alive even in the darkest [music]
9:57
years.
9:58
Small-town diners and roadside cafes
10:01
popped up to serve a steady stream of
10:03
travelers. Those diners built their
10:05
menus around what people needed most,
10:07
[music] food that was hearty,
10:09
affordable, and filling.
10:12
Oklahoma took that so seriously that
10:14
chicken fried steak eventually became
10:16
part of the state's [music] official
10:18
meal. The only state in the country to
10:20
have one.
10:22
And the very first McDonald's opened
10:24
[music] right on Route 66 in San
10:26
Bernardino, California in 1940.
10:30
>> [music]
10:31
>> I am so proud to share this memory with
10:33
y'all because it means a lot to me. I
10:35
know I think you need to be able to make
10:36
this to recreate memories of your own.
10:38
And if you never drive down Route 66,
10:41
just get out there in the backyard and
10:42
make it, enjoy it, have the family over.
10:44
But this thing is going to lay there
10:46
with a them two pieces of toast right on
10:48
the bottom. Then what? Mashed potatoes.
10:51
You didn't see it coming, but now you
10:52
got to have it, a layer right across
10:55
both of them. Then a little gravy across
10:58
that.
10:59
Then the meat, then more gravy, and then
11:02
folks, you better get ready to sit down
11:04
and eat because it's going to be the
11:05
best meal you ever had in your life.
11:10
>> [music]
11:15
[music]
11:27
[music]
11:28
>> I guarantee you, up there at Opal's so
11:30
many years ago, when they brought this
11:32
to the table you didn't need fries you
11:35
didn't need nothing else you needed a
11:37
lot of napkins
11:39
and a recliner when we got through.
11:43
I might already even cut it in half cuz
11:45
even I don't think I can get all that in
11:47
there at one time.
11:50
Thank you Lord for what I'm about to
11:52
receive. I thank you for the opportunity
11:54
to get to go by Opal's and have this.
11:57
>> [cough]
11:58
>> And I ask you Lord to bless it and let
12:00
my jaws be big enough to get it in
12:02
there.
12:15
Come here. [music] I would like a
12:16
dancing partner.
12:17
I would. Get up there we're going to
12:19
we're going to do a little walton then
12:21
we're going to do a little boogie woogie
12:22
[music] shake a butt. Yeah, that is some
12:24
fine dining right there mate.
12:27
We thank you so much for letting us come
12:29
into your houses, your hearts, and your
12:31
soul because remember y'all are not just
12:33
fans, you are family to me and Sandy and
12:35
we appreciate you each and every one. We
12:37
love you. But it is with great pride and
12:40
honor
12:42
that I salute and tip my hat to all our
12:43
servicemen and women and all the
12:45
veterans that have kept that old flag a
12:46
flying. We commend you we do and we lift
12:49
you up in prayer daily. Rest of you get
12:52
on in here for a Route 66 hug. I'm going
12:55
to go all the way around you.
12:58
God bless you each [music] and every one
13:00
and I'll see you down the best cowboy
13:01
sandwich you ever had on this Route 66
13:04
[music] trail.
13:09
gravy
13:11
Duke's all my gosh it is gravy.
13:14
Duke your big tongue's hogging.
13:17
Lou, you can't participate.
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