Bacon gravy

Cafe Society
1

I like sausage gravy, but the SO prefers I make it without sausage. So I usually make bacon gravy.

Cut four rashers of bacon in half. Cut the halves in half. Cut the quarters in half. Finally, slice in half along what was the longitudinal axis. Separate each bit into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the fat is rendered but the bacon isn’t crispy. Add about ⅓ cup flour, or whatever amount is needed to make a thick roux. (Note that more fat will be coming out of the bacon.) Toast the roux for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add some milk, and stir with a whisk to incorporate the bacon and roux. Add more milk and stir some more, remembering to free any roux and bacon caught in the whisk. Add more milk, salt and pepper to taste, and a couple of dashes of cayenne pepper. Simmer, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan, until thickened.

2

Sounds good to me, although I’d toss in a chunk of butter at the end to give it that silky look and extra richness. I make my gravy with both sausage and bacon, just to double my fun.

3

You know those ham steaks with the bone in? Chop a bit of that and throw it in, too.

4

I usually use heavy cream for gravy, much less flour needed. I have made bacon gravy for a quick gravy for roast pork and pork chops, but for now I’ll just keep putting sausage gravy on my bacon.

5

Now that’s just kooky talk. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m the guy who gets yelled at on this board for putting sage and fennel in my sausage gravy, so a little ham would be fine with me. I’ll put my gravy up against any “Southern” gravy in a blind taste test any day.

6

That sounds decadent.
Do you make this as a breakfast dish, like with biscuits, or as a gravy for pork, or what?

7

Biscuits and gravy.

It’s in the rotation of fresh hashbrowns, bacon, and eggs; and pancakes and bacon.

8

You know what makes really good country style gravy? Using the cracklings left after frying chicken. You always hear about sausage style country gravy but country gravy is just an accompaniment to whatever type of meat the poor folk were cooking in the pot. It started as a southern style way to add a little flour and milk to pour over biscuits or toast and is now more mainstream. But do not forget country chicken gravy.

After you fry chicken in a cast iron skillet keep the toasted crumbles, what I call cracklings, and maybe add a few more pieces of skin and meat from the back or other non-prime pieces, drain most of the fat and then make your roux and gravy just like you would with sausage.

This can be a surprising treat to people who do not like sausage country gravy. Best if served over home-made biscuits with the chicken.