In a 1 inch height bowl, whisk together flour, one teaspoon black pepper, one teaspoon salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and corn starch. Set aside.
In a separate 1 inch height bowl, whisk together buttermilk , Cholula hot sauce, and eggs. Set aside.
Lay paper towels down and place cube steaks on paper towels and pat the other side dry with a paper towel. You want to removed as much moisture as possible. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit for 5 minutes and pat dry again with paper towel.
Pat down the cube steaks in the flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dunk into the buttermilk-egg mixture. Let the excess drip off, and then once again pat into the flour mixture, shaking off excess. (some people use tongs or were gloves)
Place breaded cube steaks on a sheet pan and press any of the remaining flour mixture into the cube steaks making sure that the entire steak is completely coated. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 250 F.
Fill heavy skillet or large cast iron skillet with 1/4 inch of vegetable oil, over medium-high heat.
Once the oil reaches 320-340 degrees F, we are ready to fry.
Place two steaks into the pan at a time and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Try not to flip more than once because the breading may fall off.
Remove steaks from the pan and drain on paper towels. Place in preheated oven. Turn skillet heat down to medium before cooking the rest of your cube steaks.
Gravy
Pour the hot grease into a glass measuring cup or I used a coffee cup. Don't scrape the skillet clean. We want the bits to remain in the skillet so they can flavor the gravy.
Add back in 4 tablespoons of the grease to the hot skillet.
Whisk in flour and continuously whisk for two to three minutes or until golden brown.
Slowly pour about 2 1/2 cups of cream & milk into the skillet, whisking constantly. Continue whisking and bring the gravy to a simmer. Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until the gravy is smooth and creamy.
If the gravy gets too thick, add in a little more milk. Season gravy with pepper to taste.
Serve chicken fried steak with gravy and your favorite sides!