6/6/05 | Banquet Chicken Fried Steak Meal
[ Currently Eating: Coffee ]
Part 7 : Banquet Chicken Fried Beef Steak Meal
Wow, that picture sure looks delicious. Too bad the real thing didn’t live up to what they showed on the box. Not that I expected it to. I had saved up this Banquet Frozen Dinner until now because I’m a huge Chicken Fried Steak fan. I especially like getting it at old school diners where the “steak” has a really crunchy fried chicken coating and is slathered with country gravy. My mouth was watering as I put this guy in the oven even if the actual dinner looked a little skimpy.
I had sort of figured it might be a disappointment considering the mediocre Banquet Salisbury Steak Meal that I reviewed earlier. I mean, it’s basically then same thing except with different gravy, right?
I think it’s pretty funny that they need to say “Chicken Fried BEEF Steak” because they think people will get confused and think it’s actually chicken. Instead of chopped formed “beef”.
This was definitely disappointing… the bland mashed potatoes are definitely not my favorite thing. They need to put some sort of cheese sauce on those potatoes, although dipping it in the country gravy did help a bit. Corn again… definitely tired of corn in these meals by now though it’s predictable at least.
Look at that patty though. It’s just a hamburger with a coating on it in a puddle of sauce. I really think they should think about putting the sauce in a different tub… in fact I’d be willing to give up the mashed potatoes (no surprise) to put the sauce in that mashed potato tub, shrink the tub a bit and then make the chicken fried steak slightly bigger.
The problem with putting the frozen gravy into the same section as the patty is that the patty has no chance to get crispy. And as with all of these meals, crispiness goes a long way to distract the eater from the mediocre food. I often write, “hey, at least it was crispy” when reviewing these meals. When the chicken is by itself the breading gets a chance to crisp up from the heat of the oven. Putting the gravy on the side would let you pour it later over the crispy.
Some people may say this point is splitting hairs for a dollar frozen food meal, but I think it’s the little things like this that will make me buy it again. After all, the effect of a great picture on the box on a shopper only works once. For now, I think I will stick with shelling out the extra to get chicken fried steak when I eat out in diners.
Cheap Eats Score: 4/10
(You might also want to read Part I: Banquet Chicken Nugget Meal, Part II: Banquet Salisbury Steak Meal, Part III: Banquet Fried Chicken Meal Part IV: Banquet Pepperoni Pizza Meal Part V: Banquet Pepperoni Pizza Meal and Part VI: Banquet Enchilada Combo Meal)
June 6th, 2005 at 11:58 am
Wow, the picture on the box does look good. The picture of what’s inside the box is shockingly unappetizing.
June 6th, 2005 at 12:26 pm
Man, you said it. I picked up a bunch of these dinners, based somewhat on the title and description but mostly on the picture. I guess that’s why food photographers are in such high demand…
June 7th, 2005 at 3:20 pm
that’s funny because out of all of the banquet meals this is my favorite!!! the picture you have of yours looks really gross tho…like the gravy looks all oily/watery! haha i think i’m weird but I also love the mashed potatos and corn.
June 7th, 2005 at 3:49 pm
Kim – really? Wow… well, maybe I will give the Chicken Fried Steak meal another shot next time I load up on Banquet meals. I think it would get a much higher score if there was some way to keep the “steak” crust at least a bit crispy or at least not completely waterlogged. I like the Chicken Nuggets and the Fried Chicken meals they make because of the crunch (though they are quite salty).
The corn, I agree is better than expected. I’ve just had it too many times! Helps digestion too. =) But the mashed potatoes… ugh!
June 14th, 2005 at 5:07 am
I wonder if you could pry the steak out of the gravy before cooking in the oven? Maybe defrost the meal a little to get it out. Then just slap the patty on some aluminum foil next to the rest of the dinner and cook. Might work… oh and watch for Michalenas (sp?) meals to go on sale for a buck a pop – much better than most Banquet.
June 14th, 2005 at 9:46 am
Shawn – Yeah, I had thought about taking the gravy off first. However, it seems as if the gravy is actually poured onto the steak and then frozen so it is really stuck to the steak. I think you would have to do as you said and either pry it off or slice it off… but then you might accidentally slice off the steak crust. That’s why I was thinking it’d be interesting if the gravy was poured into a separate container…
I have seen Michelenas but never tried that… I’ll definitely look for it next time if it goes on sale. Plus I am getting a little tired of Banquet meals after doing so many of them!
June 17th, 2005 at 7:22 am
You have to MIX the mashed potatoes and corn! I didn’t even know that there was any other way to eat them!
(I just discovered this website today…I love it!)
June 17th, 2005 at 9:24 am
Shelly – ah… i see. Well..m ixing the two might make the mashed potatoes taste better…but the corn might taste worse. =)
July 29th, 2005 at 9:06 am
I would LOVE to see MORE coupons for Banquet dinners,since I am a coupon clipper & feel almost obligated to have one when I buy.
I use the dinners especially the chicken nuggets & chicken fingers for my grandkids when their folks are both working. My husband & I are retired seniors & we like most all the dinners & usually have enough side dishes in the fridge if we want to add anything.
Thankyou.
Sincerely,
Maxine Barton
July 29th, 2005 at 9:21 am
Maxine – yes, these frozen dinners are life savers when there is nothing to eat around the house…
December 1st, 2005 at 9:08 am
Needs more flavor. Too small of portions. Too cheaply made.
Needs more work done to it. You can do it cheap but give the dinners a makeover. It needs help. The potatoes just have to go.
They taste like the box. Put flavor into the food. Give it something.
Put some sweet with it too.
Help it. It needs all it can get.
December 5th, 2005 at 3:41 am
I had this meal tonight, and like you, was REALLY excited, because it chicken fried (beef) steak. I bought it for a dollar- you should’ve seen me, walking out of the frozen food aisle, with a disgusting smug look on my face.
As a first year already-starving college student, I am at the beginning of the long road of frozen dinners. After it was hot and good to go, I took my first bite of the “steak”.
I thought God was punishing me.
The only way I was able to finish it was dousing it in black pepper and thyme. Mashed potatoes? Eh. Corn? You’re a poor excuse of a frozen dinner if you could screw up corn. Corn was better than the potatoes.
In fact, I was so angered by this “chicken fried [beef] steak” that I googled “banquet chicken fried steak”, hoping for some kind of similar, disgusted rant.
And now, here I am.
You’re generous. I would’ve given it a 2.
-Charlie
P.S. This site is awesome
December 5th, 2005 at 10:04 am
dee – now if only the Banquet people would read this, maybe they’d figure out what people really think about this particular meal.
charlie – i think i need to try this again, but you are probably right about giving it a lower score. It was a buck though, so that’s definitely cheap. I really like chicken fried steak at coffeeshops, though it is pricier than it used to be. I still think they would improve the meal by keeping the sauce separate. Try some of the other meals, they are hit and miss but for a buck it might be worth it to experiment…
June 27th, 2006 at 10:31 am
The Banquet meals are good in a pinch when you’re hungry late at night, or as a hot lunch for your kids. Granted, I wasn’t too impressed with the chicken fried steak, mostly because of the gravy. Just didn’t taste right. Too sweet. Should be more peppery. However, some of the others are pretty good. Turkey dinner w/ peas and potatoes, especially. The secret is to put it on a plate after cooking instead of eating it from the tray:) My little boy likes the corndog meal. The same company puts out a similar frozen dinner marketed to kids that costs more. Heck, these are about a buck each. If they were served on airline flights instead of a bag of pretzels, most folks would be ecstatic.