The History of Chicken Fried Steak

It is thought that wiener schnitzel from Germany and Austria is the direct ancestor of chicken fried steak. When immigrants from these nations settled in Texas, they brought their cuisine with them. They replaced the traditional veal with more readily available cuts of beef, but since most of these immigrants were not wealthy, the cuts were typically subpar. In fact, precisely because the method of breading and frying provided a way to make cheaper cuts of meat more palatable, the dish caught on quickly with the local population. It soon expanded throughout Texas and made its way around the rest of the American South. By the early 1900s, restaurant advertisements were mentioning chicken fried steak, but food historians have noted that batter-fried steaks appeared in Southern cookbooks as far back as the early 1800s. By the 1930s, chicken fried steak had gained popularity in many parts of the United States. Today, it remains one of the most iconic Texan dishes and is extremely popular, especially in the American South.