Chicken Fried Steak With Cheese Curds and Maple Candied Bacon

Preheat the oven to 400F

lay out about 3/4 of the bacon on a foiled baking sheet, brush with half the maple syrup and sprinkle with half the the sugar and brush again to spread the sugar. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes. Turn the strips, brush again and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Cook the remaining 1/4lb of bacon in a pan. Eat the bacon, but keep the grease, pouring it into a sauce pot.

Crumble the bacon into bits and set aside

In a shallow bowl whisk together the milk and eggs. In another shallow bowl add the flour and season with the garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mix with a fork til combined. In a third shallow bowl add the bread crumbs

Fill a skillet with 1/4″ of high smoke point oil like canola or vegetable and heat on high til crackling, but not smoking. Fry the steaks one at a time til golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain each steak and set aside on a cooling rack

Heat the extra bacon grease on a sauce pot, adding any needed additional butter. Whisk in the flour to form a roux then pour in the cream and milk and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil on high then reduce to medium-low and simmer, whisking frequently.

Lay a layer of 1/3 of the fries on a plate, add a steak, top with 1/3 of the cheese curds, gravy and bacon bits.