Final Poll for State Table Fare (Lubbock, Amarillo: trip , jobs, home)

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I have found that BBQ is more often good at an eatery than CFS is.

I went on too dang many band trips...on longer runs, they'd feed us...and it was always CFS.

More often than not, it was so tough that it was like trying to eat the bottom of a shoe. I don't recall ever having even a decent CFS at a restaurant, let alone a GOOD one.

So.....mine are cooked at home. When I made my own, I found out that I loved CFS.....!

I promise I am NOT going to "campaign at the polling place"...LOL...but I thought these articles were very interesting as concerns Texas CFS and Texas BBQ.

Dueling steaks | Southern Living | Find Articles at BNET

Anyway, Cathy, as concerns CFS, I am not sure WHICH it is I make at home in terms of the article's contents and defintions. Mine is definitely crispy. I flour, dip in buttermilk, then flour again, and pan fry. But at the same time, I use "cube steak" and really don't "tenderize" as per the classic Texas chicken fried steak found in most restaurants. But it IS chicken fried to me...Texan and I stick up for it! LOL

The BBQ one is very interesting too. Here is an excerpt and link which might serve as a microcosm of Texas itself. I don't disagree with it! LOL:

Southern barbecue is a proud thoroughbred whose bloodlines are easily traced. Texas barbecue is a feisty mutt with a whole lot of crazy relatives. Open up a few of the oral histories on this site and meet the family

The Southern BBQ Trail | An SFA Documentary

[TexasHorseLady]

Hmmm. So they make a clear distinction between "Southern" BBQ and "Texas" BBQ.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

I promise I am NOT going to "campaign at the polling place"...LOL...but I thought these articles were very interesting as concerns Texas CFS and Texas BBQ.

Dueling steaks | Southern Living | Find Articles at BNET

Anyway, Cathy, as concerns CFS, I am not sure WHICH it is I make at home in terms of the article's contents and defintions. Mine is definitely crispy. I flour, dip in buttermilk, then flour again, and pan fry. But at the same time, I use "cube steak" and really don't "tenderize" as per the classic Texas chicken fried steak found in most restaurants. But it IS chicken fried to me...Texan and I stick up for it! LOL

The BBQ one is very interesting too. Here is an excerpt and link which might serve as a microcosm of Texas itself. I don't disagree with it! LOL:

Southern barbecue is a proud thoroughbred whose bloodlines are easily traced. Texas barbecue is a feisty mutt with a whole lot of crazy relatives. Open up a few of the oral histories on this site and meet the family

The Southern BBQ Trail | An SFA Documentary

Rob Walsh used to write for Chile Pepper Magazine, which started in Albuquerque as a small mom-and-pop publication, moved to Fort Worth later...and then was acquired by someone in NYC, at which time I promptly let my subscription run out. They always had an annual BBQ issue, and there was always something interesting about it! Like Texas Monthly and Texas Highways, they'd always critique the BBQ joints all across the state!

We don't agree on the kind of wood, the need for sauce, the cut of meat, or which part of the state does it best. And we all have our favorite pit bosses. But we all agree that non-Texans don't understand it.

To me, it's beef/cabrito (goat) and mesquite wood....sometimes with spicy sauce and sometimes just bare, LOL!!

Until I went to VA, I had never had anything BBQed other than beef or cabrito. Pork and a sweet sauce are much more common there...and (GAG) sweet beans!!!!!

As for chicken fried steak....I use round steak most of the time, tenderized almost to a bloody pulp, and sometimes cube steak. It is ALWAYS battered, and always has a crispy crust. To me, that's what makes a chicken-fried steak! It is just nearly always tough in most restaurants, especially cheap ones! I might have one CFS a year. I wasn't even aware of the argument over chicken-fried and "country-fried" steak, LOL!!

[TexasReb]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Hmmm. So they make a clear distinction between "Southern" BBQ and "Texas" BBQ.

Touche' LOL But notice the larger exploration is titled "Trails of SOUTHERN BBQ!

But seriously, I don't argue at all that what is usually thought of as Texas BBQ differs quite a bit from that in the southeast! Which yes, for sure is one of those things that makes us atypical.

So see? I AM fair about it! LOL

[TexasReb]

Here was, I thought, a good sub-article in Wikededia as to the varieties of Texas BBQ. As is noted (and I agree) that labeled "Cowboy" is the one which is probably most served and associated in the state...

Barbecue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Here was, I thought, a good sub-article in Wikededia as to the varieties of Texas BBQ. As is noted (and I agree) that labeled "Cowboy" is the one which is probably most served and associated in the state...

Barbecue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes, I agree with that also, but...mutton? I have never heard of anybody BBQing that one, LOL!!

Has anybody else?!?

[lonestar2007]

Well, I have to say I always thought beef was more associated with bar-b-que in Texas, but I've got to say I never cared for short ribs, it was always pork ribs for me. And now, I just don't bother unless it's the babyback. We almost had them today, but brisket won out.

Any roasts I have that is leftover usually winds up as bar-b-que whether it is beef or pork. A couple of years ago I got into buying pork roasts and using it for the pulled pork bar-b-que style of the south, most notably NC. It's good for sandwiches and easy to make.

Mutton...what's mutton? Seriously, I guess you can bar-b-que ANYTHING, but no, I've never heard of using mutton for bar-b-que. Poor little Mary, she would be upset.

Oh, BTW Cathy, they've got to do SOMETHING with those poor old twelve year old bulls! Cheap meat, run it through a tenderizer machine, roll it in some flour, deep fry it and smother it in gravy, add a few french fries, with a dab of salad and charge $5.99 and it's not a bad deal for the owners of the average diner that sells these by the dozens at lunchtime, well, suppertime too, just tack another dollar or two onto the same plate of food.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

Well, I have to say I always thought beef was more associated with bar-b-que in Texas, but I've got to say I never cared for short ribs, it was always pork ribs for me. And now, I just don't bother unless it's the babyback. We almost had them today, but brisket won out.

Any roasts I have that is leftover usually winds up as bar-b-que whether it is beef or pork. A couple of years ago I got into buying pork roasts and using it for the pulled pork bar-b-que style of the south, most notably NC. It's good for sandwiches and easy to make.

Mutton...what's mutton? Seriously, I guess you can bar-b-que ANYTHING, but no, I've never heard of using mutton for bar-b-que. Poor little Mary, she would be upset.

Oh, BTW Cathy, they've got to do SOMETHING with those poor old twelve year old bulls! Cheap meat, run it through a tenderizer machine, roll it in some flour, deep fry it and smother it in gravy, add a few french fries, with a dab of salad and charge $5.99 and it's not a bad deal for the owners of the average diner that sells these by the dozens at lunchtime, well, suppertime too, just tack another dollar or two onto the same plate of food.

LOL!! I'd believe it!

I am not a fan of ribs in general....but babyback is another story, and all I will fix!!

I hate mutton/lamb in any form. I have just never liked it....it tastes so GAMEY.

[lilypad]

Oh no! Sweet tea is Number One, for REAL Texans. Oh well, I like Dr. Pepper too.

[JamesAbilene]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I have found that BBQ is more often good at an eatery than CFS is.

I went on too dang many band trips...on longer runs, they'd feed us...and it was always CFS.

More often than not, it was so tough that it was like trying to eat the bottom of a shoe. I don't recall ever having even a decent CFS at a restaurant, let alone a GOOD one.

So.....mine are cooked at home. When I made my own, I found out that I loved CFS.....!

I agree. No restaurant makes it as good as either me or my wife. And our gravy is to die for. I never eat chicken fried steak except at home. (Our 40 year old daughter can make a good one too--finally.)