Change Your Flour

• Light, crispy chicken-fried steak starts with a batter lightened with baking powder. You don't need a lot -- about 1 teaspoon baking powder for each 1 cup of flour -- but you'll notice an immediate difference. Baking powder begins forming carbon dioxide bubbles as soon as it meets liquid. A second round of bubbles forms when the battered meat hits the hot oil. These bubbles cause the batter to expand slightly and become light and airy. You can also use self-rising flour, which contains baking powder or even a baking mix. If you use these products, omit the salt and any additional baking powder.

Season Well

• The last thing you want is bland chicken-fried steak, so be sure to use plenty of seasoning. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt per 1 cup of flour to your batter, or use a savory seasoning salt. Add other seasonings, based on your personal preferences. Try sweet mesquite seasoning, rosemary, garlic or a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat.

Double Dip

• For a thick, crispy batter, you need to dredge the meat more than once. Mix eggs and milk together in one bowl and make your flour batter in another. Dip the meat in the egg mixture, followed by the flour mixture, but don't stop there. Dip the meat in both bowls at least once or twice more. This double -- or triple dipping -- makes a thicker, crispier batter than if you merely dipped the meat once.

Tips for Success

• A well-seasoned batter is only one part of making delicious chicken-fried steak. Start with round steak -- an inexpensive, but tough cut of meat, made from round roasts. Tenderize it well with a meat tenderizer. Heat the oil until it's hot, but not smoking, before you drop the breaded meat into it. The oil needs to be hot so it cooks the meat and batter quickly. Otherwise, the batter absorbs oil and becomes greasy, rather than crisp. Don't forget the milk gravy, made by stirring milk and flour into the leftover drippings.