Chicken Fried Turkey

The last day of November! The cold weather is upon us. And there is nothing better on a cold day than a hot plate of stick-to-your-ribs food fare. And when you look up "stick-to-your-ribs" in the dictionary, there is a picture of chicken fried steak but we are watching calories here, substituting the steak for turkey. (I am in denial, I know, lol.) I remember the first time having country gravy at a small hometown place, in one of the Carolinas for breakfast with hearty grits and thought to myself, that it wasn't very exciting!? I fantasized for the longest time, probably since knowing I was taking the road trip to see my cousin off to college, how I would fall in love with this thick luscious looking gravy and how it would be my go-to-gravy, that saved every bland meal, but I wasn't so excited about it, until I had it with chicken fried steak in a great soul food restaurant years later. Country gravy goes with chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes like peanut butter to jelly and butter to bread. They just go together nicely. But I never learned how to make it, so I thought who better to learn that from than the Pioneer Woman? The pictures are great and so easy to grasp. You can check out the purist recipe at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/02/chicken-fried-steak/ I played around with the recipe a little bit, adding sun dried tomatoes, fresh sage and butter (?) I don't know what I was thinking but it came out good, especially because I like that herb-y deep flavor of sage. This does a good job of sticking to your ribs, on a cold, late autumn, overcast day. Happy weekend everyone!

For the turkey steaks: 

• 1 pound turkey breast cutlets, about 4 pieces
• milk for dipping
• 1 cup flour
• generous pinch ground sage
• pinch of sweet paprika
• lots of fresh ground black pepper
• sea salt
• canola oil

For the country gravy:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 sun dried tomatoes from a oil packed jar, drained and finely minced
• 1 sage leaf, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons of grease from pan
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• sea salt
• lots of fresh ground black pepper

Begin by pounding the turkey cutlets until thin. (I use a wooden board that is used just for this purpose and put plastic wrap over the meat and then pound with a meat mallet, using the flat side.) If the pieces get too large, which they can, cut them in half. Set up a breading station, one plate with the milk, one with the seasoned flour and one large platter for the seasoned cutlets. Mix the dry ingredients of the flour, ground sage, paprika, sea salt and ground pepper. Next dip the cutlets into the milk followed by the seasoned flour, pressing the flour deeply into the turkey, ensuring that every millimeter is coated. Heat up your canola oil in a large heavy bottomed pan until nice and hot. Next fry your seasoned cutlets. They cook in a matter of less than a minute per each side. You really have to keep an eye on them. Once they are browned around the edges, flip and fry on the other side. Drain on paper towels, then move them onto paper bags, so they stay crisp. Work through the rest of the batch until all are fried up. Carefully drain all but 2 tablespoons of the grease from the pan, leaving the bits for flavor. Sprinkle in the 2 tablespoons of flour, whisking quickly and allowing it to brown on low to medium heat. Add in a little of the milk, the sun dried tomatoes, minced sage, sea salt and pepper. Continue adding in the remaining milk and butter, increasing the heat if needed. Cook until the mixture bubbles away and turns into a country gravy. It doesn't take long at all. (If you want more gravy, double the country gravy recipe.) Serve with mashed potatoes or flaky buttery biscuits. Mmmm....Serves 4.