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July 2009
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Kim, I think it would be hard t Would that CFS' origins were so simple Isn't milanesa the sister to milanese, Categories
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I sent my story about the chicken-fried steak at Mary's Cafe to a bunch of foodie friends in a global chat group (who are often amused by what we do in Texas), and Rachel Laudan sent this reply: Another Texas destination to put on my list. You know, Kim, reading this it occurs to me that chicken fried steak is in fact first cousin to the milanesa of Mexico (and of much of Latin America). You almost never see recipes for milanesa because (a) everyone here knows how to cook it and (b) those writing cookbooks for American or other foreign audiences want something more Mexican. But it's a standby in comida corrida (quick dinner) places, small restaurants, families etc. No gravy. And usually breadcrumbed as well as dipped in flour. I have a friend who serves it with a salad of honeydew in vinaigrette.Rachel is a British-born food scholar, cookbook author and James Beard Award winner who lives and works in Mexico and often travels to Texas. CommentsE-mail entry: |
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Isn't milanesa the sister to milanese, brought by the influx of Italian immigration to Latin America? And aren't they all (including CFS) descended from schnitzel?
Would that CFS' origins were so simple to confimr. There are several theories: One is that it developed in cattle country to tame tough beef. Another is the Hill Country German schnitzel theory. But there are recipes suspiciously like CFS, not calling it that, back to at least the 1830s. In particular, I found one in "The Kentucky Housewife" (1839) when I was researching my "Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink" entry on the topic.
Kim,
I think it would be hard to argue that the idea or origins didn't ultimately come from Central Europe somehow, no matter the route it eventually took to becoming the chicken-fried steak in Texas. BTW, the moniker "chicken-fried steak" apparently didn't even start showing up in cookbooks until the mid-1900's.
I found this interesting site (http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmeats.html#countryfriedsteak) which actually includes this quote from a January 23, 1994 Dallas Morning News article about Hofstetter's Wiener schnitzel -
"The German-Austrian dish is an illustrious forebear to our chicken-fried steak. German immigrants brought the breaded and fried cutlet to the Texas frontier, where it was quickly copied -with less finesse-by chuck-wagon cooks and farm wives trying to make a tough cut of beef more palatable. Even the gravy ladled on top has Teutonic roots: Rahmschnitzel is garnished with cream sauce. Schnitzel is German for cutlet. It is most often made from veal, but pork and, less frequently, beef also are used. Though there are many variations, the most popular is probably Wiener schnitzel, a crisply coated cutlet served plain except for a squeeze of lemon."
There you have it.... if it came from the DMN, it must be true! ;)