Kansas Chicken-Fried Steak

Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into 4 serving-size pieces. Place each piece of beef between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Working from center to edges, pound meat lightly with the flat side of a meat mallet to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove plastic wrap.

In a shallow dish or on waxed paper, combine bread crumbs, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, basil and the 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. In another shallow dish, combine egg and the 1 tablespoon milk. Dip meat pieces into egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumb mixture.

In a 12-inch skillet, cook meat, half at time, in hot oil over medium heat about 6 minutes or until brown, turning once. (Add more oil, if necessary.) Return all meat to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 45 to 60 minutes more or until meat is tender. Transfer meat to a serving platter, reserving drippings in skillet. Keep meat warm.

Cook onion in the reserved drippings until tender but not brown. (Add more oil, if necessary.) Stir in flour. Gradually stir in the 1-1/3 cups milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. If you like, season to taste with additional salt and black pepper. Serve gravy with meat.