- 2 months ago
Craving Cracker Barrel comfort without the road trip? In this video, Nicole tackles five of the restaurant’s most beloved dishes—recreating the cozy, down-home flavors right in your own kitchen. From tender chicken and dumplings to sweet Southern-style fried apples, these copycat recipes deliver serious country comfort. She starts with Cracker Barrel’s signature Chicken and Dumplings, featuring rich, slow-simmered flavor and pillowy dumplings. Next up: crispy, golden Country Fried Steak with creamy peppered Sawmill Gravy. Then she takes on their ultra-creamy, cheesy Hashbrown Casserole—an all-time favorite side. Finally, she serves up a warm skillet of Fried Apples, spiced just right and perfect for dessert or brunch.
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00:00From the rocking chairs to the main menu, nothing screams comfort more than Cracker Barrel.
00:04In case you're worried about the menu ever changing, I've got you covered with five of the best Copycat recipes.
00:10I'm taking their five most popular recipes and showing you how to make them at home.
00:14When I deliver Copycat recipes, I've got to make sure they are as close as possible.
00:19Therefore, I do a little research.
00:21I found that the most popular menu items include, of course, chicken and dumplings,
00:25hash brown casserole, country fried steak with sawmill gravy, and, of course, the fried apples.
00:32So I'm going to start with the chicken and dumplings.
00:33They're just one of the most comforting dishes, but the way Cracker Barrel makes them, like, could not be any simpler.
00:38So I've just got some cold water in here.
00:41I'm going to drop the whole chicken in, even if we decide not to use the dart meat,
00:46because it's going to make a flavorful broth.
00:49But because I noticed there was more white meat in there,
00:52I'm just going to throw in a couple of the bone-in split chicken breast.
00:57The broth was so light that I don't feel like there's carrots in their stock,
01:01so I'm just going in with celery and onion.
01:04I'm going to salt it a little bit and add in some peppercorns.
01:08I'm just going to keep this one basic.
01:10One thing about Cracker Barrel,
01:12I don't think it's fussy.
01:16I think the simpler, the better.
01:17This is going to take a while, like an hour or two.
01:23I mean, it's not going to be the all-day chicken broth,
01:25but we just want a flavorful stock to make our dumpling gravy,
01:29and we need cooked chicken.
01:30While the chicken and broth are going, we make the dumplings.
01:33The recipe I'm using is one of our top-rated recipes.
01:36It all recipes for just simple rolled dumplings,
01:39so I think this is going to be the way to go here.
01:41Flour, two teaspoons of baking powder, teaspoon of salt.
01:47All right, then it's a third cup of shortening, the old Crisco.
01:52You can just use forks, or you could always just freeze your shortening
01:56and then grate it in with a box grater,
01:58and you want it to kind of get really crumbly.
02:01You can kind of see those little, like, pea-sized crumbs of flour.
02:07That's what we want.
02:08All right, now that we have kind of a crumbly flour mixture,
02:12in goes some milk.
02:15And you want it to just be moistened, just enough to roll it out.
02:19Time to get in there with your hands.
02:21It'll gradually pick up the rest of the flour.
02:24All right, so now we're just going to roll it out to, like, one-inch thickness.
02:27You want it pretty thin because it's going to puff up a little bit when it cooks,
02:31so you want to kind of get as thin as possible.
02:35Not the prettiest of shapes, but it's all going to taste good.
02:39But you want to cut it into strips.
02:41And I feel like theirs were, like, not a long strip, but not quite a square.
02:46So I'm going to go somewhere in between there.
02:49Something like this.
02:51I'm going to finish the dumplings, and then we'll finish the chicken,
02:53and then we put it all together.
02:55All right, my chicken is cooked.
02:58My broth is flavorful.
02:59So I'm going to take out everything.
03:02That was risky.
03:05And now I've just got to strain this broth into another pot.
03:08So their sauce, their gravy to the chicken and dumplings, was very mild.
03:14It was very light in color.
03:15So the golden hue of this chicken broth is probably perfect.
03:21Since it needs just, like, a little more salt,
03:22I'm going to go ahead and just richen it up a little bit with a little chicken bouillon.
03:27And in the meantime, we'll cut up the chicken.
03:31I'm going to add the chicken back in after the dumplings are cooked.
03:35That way this doesn't overcook.
03:37All right, the goal is to turn this, you know, translucent chicken broth into something creamy.
03:42And hopefully all of the flour and the starch that's in these dumplings is going to do that as it boils.
03:49You can see how the boil is moving them around, so they're not sticking in a clump.
03:54Get them all in, and then we just let it cook, stirring occasionally, until it's creamy and delicious.
04:00All right, our dumplings are about, like, 80% cooked.
04:04And you can see how our broth has become, like, a creamy color.
04:08It needs to be thicker, more like a gravy, for the chicken and dumplings.
04:13So here's how we're going to thicken it up.
04:14I'm going to make a little slurry with flour.
04:17We already have flour in there cooking away.
04:20And then cold milk.
04:22You could do water, but I'm going to make these creamy, and we already have milk in our dumplings.
04:27Okay, I'm going to add the chicken back in.
04:29Just going to let this cook down a little further and thicken up a little bit more.
04:32Pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one.
04:35And look at this pot of chicken and dumplings.
04:38If that's not one of the most perfect things you've seen, I don't know what is.
04:44Now theirs probably didn't have this much, like, gravy.
04:50And maybe it was because it was a to-go version.
04:53I feel like when you get it in the restaurant, you do get a little more, like, you know, soupiness.
04:58All right, how did we do?
05:04I mean, that's what you call better than perfect.
05:07This is a good example of, like, how being a copycat is a good thing.
05:12Because I nailed this one.
05:17Mmm.
05:18On to the next most popular item.
05:20The time has come, and I have a hard time deciding which one's really the most popular.
05:24There's different reports, but country fried steak is definitely in the top two or three.
05:31And let me tell you, I can see why.
05:33In my research, what I love the most is the crunchy breading.
05:44I gotta get that texture.
05:48I gotta get that.
05:49It seems to be crushed up saltine crackers.
05:53That's what I saw in a lot of copycat recipes, but then once I really tasted it, I'm like,
05:57yep, that's what it is.
05:58Because some of the crumbs, they're, like, not perfect.
06:01So I found this recipe at All Recipes for Country Fried Steak with Saltine Crackers.
06:04I'm gonna mostly follow that.
06:07Mostly.
06:08All right, so we set up just a two-step breading station.
06:12So I'm gonna have eggs and milk in one.
06:14All right, and the other is our seasoned flour with saltines.
06:19You want them finely crushed.
06:24Probably should have put these in a plastic bag.
06:26I gotta be finer than that.
06:32That's better.
06:36In we go.
06:37And then to season it up, I haven't used this in, like, 20 years.
06:43Good old seasoned salt.
06:44Measure with your heart.
06:46Some garlic powder and a little onion powder.
06:49And then a little salt and pepper.
06:51All right, cube steak is what you gotta have.
06:54Beef cube steak.
06:56So affordable, and what makes it cube steak is that they go ahead and, like, sort of partially,
07:02almost grind it, and that's what tenderizes this.
07:05So, this is a cheaper cut of meat, which is typically tougher, but because they go ahead
07:10and tenderize it, it's going to be tender.
07:13But I really want to adhere the coating onto here.
07:16I probably should have done wet hand, dry hand.
07:18Could never do it.
07:19Oh, I'm giving you a bonus recipe.
07:21This is really a two-for-one special because I will be making the sawmill gravy to go with
07:27it because what is country fried steak without gravy?
07:30All right.
07:32Let's fry these up.
07:33Going in with just enough oil to coat the bottom of the skillet.
07:39Contrary to what you might think, this is not a deep-fry situation.
07:43So, really, I mean, this would feed my family for right around 12 bucks, 10 to 12 dollars.
07:51Not bad.
07:52Let's flip-a-roo.
07:57Why haven't I been frying with saltines?
07:59Okay.
08:02Now, the gravy is just like the most simple, old-school, like, pan milk gravy.
08:07That's all you, I mean, that's all it is.
08:09So, I'm going to just clean out some of this cooked flour.
08:14So, you know, I always have bacon grease sitting on my counter.
08:19And so, I'm just going to add that to the skillet.
08:24Oh, you already get that, like, bacon smell, though.
08:27It's that smokiness.
08:28Like, that's what we want.
08:29Then, you're just going to add flour.
08:37See, you can see, like, the little flecks in the roux.
08:41That's some from the bacon fat and some from cooking the country fried steak.
08:45And now, in goes the milk.
08:48I'm just going to bring this to a simmer.
08:51And you just keep adding the milk until you get to the consistency you want.
08:56All right, creamy goodness.
08:59Got to get a healthy pinch of salt in there.
09:06All right, let's serve up the masterpiece that is country fried steak and salt mill gravy.
09:13I do think mashed potatoes is the perfect side for country fried steak.
09:17So, that's what we're doing.
09:21Pretty tender.
09:25Nailed the coating.
09:27Nailed it.
09:29I can see why they really serve it with more gravy, because you do need some gravy for every bite.
09:34It's amazing that, like, an inexpensive cut of beef like this can be so tender.
09:38And this is tender, but I almost, I think Cracker Barrel's is even more tender.
09:45I feel like maybe, maybe we should have soaked it in buttermilk or something.
09:48I'll do it in buttermilk or something.
09:49I'll do it in buttermilk or something.
09:49I'll do that next time.
09:53Breading it with the crackers, A plus, a seasoned salt.
09:56Yes, this is the quintessential, perfect, old-time, southern dinner.
10:01Now, let's whip up some sides.
10:04The hash brown casserole is everything we love in a typical hash brown casserole.
10:08It's got that, you know, kind of cheesy crust on it, but it's so, like, creamy and indulgent in the middle.
10:13It starts with butter.
10:15So, I'm just going to melt half a stick of butter in here.
10:20All right, to the melted butter, a quarter cup of finely chopped onion.
10:24You want it really finely chopped.
10:26You want it to kind of, like, hide amidst all the shredded potatoes.
10:30And a can of cream of chicken.
10:32One egg.
10:34Cup of sour cream.
10:36Give this a mix.
10:38And add in cheese.
10:41Two and a half cups.
10:42That's about two cups of Colby Jack.
10:44And a little more cheddar.
10:47And the potatoes.
10:48It's got to be the shredded hash brown potatoes.
10:51Salt.
10:55And then garlic powder.
10:57Make sure everything is well mixed and coated.
11:01Casserole dish.
11:03Lightly grease it.
11:05Yes, yes, yes.
11:06This is my favorite thing.
11:08I love it so much.
11:10I don't like it to be perfectly smooth on top so that you get kind of little brown bits.
11:15All right, then you're going to top it with just a little more cheese.
11:17All right, that's it.
11:18It goes into the oven 350 degrees until it's all heated through, hot, bubbly.
11:24It's going to take about 45 to 55 minutes.
11:27Let me tell you what smells good.
11:28This.
11:29I'm not trying for mine to look better than theirs, but that just looks good.
11:37That's a creamy hash brown casserole.
11:40I could eat this every single day.
11:48Just the right amount of saltiness.
11:50Like I said, it's super creamy.
11:51The potatoes are beyond tender.
11:53And then just on the top, it's a little bit crisp from that cheesy crust.
11:59We were never going to go wrong with this one anyway, but it's a winner.
12:03The fried apples, while they are a side, to me, they're like dessert.
12:07It really looks like they are golden delicious apples because the skin is like, looks just
12:13like this cooked, but it has just these little spots on it.
12:17And the skin is really thin, which I notice on these apples.
12:20So that's what we're using.
12:22And good news, they do have the skin on them, so you don't have to peel them first.
12:27So I just like to cut them off the core and then cut them into wedges, just however many
12:35fit in your pan.
12:38Skillet over the heat, add in your butter.
12:40Now I will say, the Cracker Barrel fried apples, they are called fried apples, but they
12:45don't really look fried.
12:47So they're more on the lighter colored side.
12:50So I'm not really going to worry about achieving much color here.
12:55Here, that sizzle, just give them, coat it in the butter.
13:00And my mom always added like a little squeeze of lemon, and you do this a lot in apple pies.
13:06Some people put brown sugar in their fried apples, but because I said like, theirs are a
13:12little lighter in color compared to other people's.
13:16So I'm just going to do the regular.
13:20All right, as these cook, they're going to release their juices.
13:24They're going to become really juicy in here, but then we're going to thicken that juice
13:27up with a little cornstarch.
13:29You also got to go in with your cinnamon.
13:30Now that has a smell that I would like in my kitchen 24-7.
13:39All right, so now at this point, we've done the frying part, and now they do basically kind
13:45of just stew in here.
13:46So I'm going to kind of turn it down a little bit, and then I'm going to mostly cover it
13:51so that I don't lose all that juiciness.
13:56Look at those apples, tender.
14:00It's kind of been a little syrupy.
14:02I'm going to thicken this up just a little bit.
14:06Make it just a little bit saucier.
14:08So I've got a little bit of cold water.
14:13I'm going to add in some cornstarch, and then it thickens up that juice to where it kind
14:18of coats those apples without changing the flavor, and that's what you want.
14:23That looks super close to the real deal, but how does it taste?
14:32I'll tell you.
14:34The fried cinnamon apples from Cracker Barrel, also from your home, right here.
14:43See how saucy and tender they are?
14:46The skin on the outside looks the same.
14:53Delightfully sweet, still a little bit juicy on the inside, that warm cinnamon.
14:59I mean, the smell, it's just like a warm, sweet hug.
15:06A plus, we've done it again.
15:07You've got all the recipes you need now to create the perfect Cracker Barrel experience
15:11at home or for when you just feel like you need some comfort.
15:14I just wish I had a rocking chair to sit in.
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