Place 2 cups of flour into a shallow bowl, or pie plate. Stir stir together the baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a separate shallow bowl; stir in the buttermilk, egg, hot sauce, & garlic powder. Dredge each steak first in the flour, and then in the batter, and again in the flour. Pat the flour onto the surface of each steak so they are completely coated with dry flour.

Heat the shortening in a deep cast-iron skillet. Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown – about 3-5 minutes per side. Place the fried steaks on a plate with paper towels to drain. Drain the fat from the skillet reserving 1/4 cup of the oil and as much of the solid remnants as possible.

Return the skillet to medium-low heat with the reserved oil. Whisk the remaining flour into the oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release the solids into the gravy. Stir in the milk, raise the heat to medium, and bring the gravy to a simmer; cook until thick, about 7 minutes or so. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Spoon the gravy over the steaks to serve.