Cheap Hearty Breakkie, Bacon, Biscuits, and Gravy
So, the winter storm “Ben Dover” visited overnight and left its unwanted gifts: 5-7 inches of snow and a heavy crust of ice. And as an added “benefit,” we have rain coming this afternoon and a deep freeze for the next three days.
While my current 100′ of level driveway does not match my prior 1300′ driveway leading up a hill, it is still a ‘Byotch”. Clearing this, and it must be removed, or face the wrath of the village and Madam Bad Wolf or risk life and limb to feed my flying pigs. (There are many wild birds that winter in my wood shed, and they look for me to provide feed each morning.)
The overall process is not overly taxing, given the modern marvels of a sales team, er, ah SNOW BLOWER, just an hour or so man-handling something that weighs as much as I do and is almost as obstinate. Such exercise burns calories fast, and when one is done you want to replace them quickly.
There are many options here, such as waffles, oatmeal, toast and egg, cereal, etc. But I also want comfort food, and being from the South, that spells sawmill gravy, thick creamy meat-based gravy, heavy with pepper and biscuits, thick, hot pillowey, steaming from the oven. Split the biscuits, smothered in gravy, and serve with a side of meat, in this case, BACON, and maybe a couple of eggs on the side.
Now, let’s talk bacon; if I were serving bacon-wrapped appetizers, or presenting some BLT-type sandwich to visitors, I’d go showy and use thick-cut artisan bacon, but I’m just cooking bacon, so the cheap store-brand center cut or even the “end and pieces” bulk box will work just fine.
For the biscuit component, one could use the store-brand biscuit roll, but as I already have some sourdough that must be fed and feeding leaves discard, I’ll go that extra step and make Cat Head Biscuits. (The biscuits are the size of a cat’s head; eat two of those, and you will be full.)
From Wikipedia:
Biscuits and gravy is a popular breakfast dish in the United States, especially in the south. The dish consists of soft dough biscuits covered in white gravy (sawmill gravy), made from the drippings of cooked pork sausage, flour, milk, and often (but not always) bits of sausage, bacon, ground beef, or other meat. The gravy is often flavored with black pepper.
A variation of the dish served in the US military is sometimes referred to as “SOS” which means “shit on a shingle”, and is prepared with either biscuits or toast, and has been a staple military comfort food for over 100 years.
Sourdough Discard Biscuits
Ingredients
- 100 grams Sourdough starter (just about the discard from a feeding, 1/2 cup)
- 40 ml neutral oil
- 3/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 60 grams Flour Soft flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- In a medium bowl, mix starter and oil, mix well
- Add all others and stir to just combine
- Drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet, by heaping tablespoons
- Bake until golden brown, ~ 12-15 minutes
Notes
Nutrition
Bacon Gravy
Equipment
- 1 Skillet Large, Cast Iron is my choice
Ingredients
- 1 lb Bacon Thick Cut
- 1/3 cup AP Flour
- 4 cups Whole Milk Divided
- 2 tsp Black Pepper Fresh Ground
Instructions
- Lay the bacon into a large skillet.
- Fry off over medium-high heat to desired crispness. Remove from pan.
- Remove all but 2-3 tbsp of bacon drippings
- Sprinkle on half the flour and stir to create a roux
- Add the rest of the flour bit by bit, stirring constantly
- cook the roux for another minute
- Add the milk slowly, stirring constantly
- Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens.
- Add the pepper, and stir to combine
- Taste and balance, salt may be required
- Continue cooking until very thick, adding milk slowly to adjust the texture
- Looking for a lovely thick gravy
- Serve over hot biscuits.
Nutrition
Filed
under: American, Baked, Basics, Bread, Cheap, Gravy, Southern
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