ZOMG, Fried Bacon with Gravy...
I saw some articles online about country fried bacon, and well, I had to try it. I'm sorry, I had to (I'm not that sorry). The planned meal was 3 parts, the holy trinity of breakfast. Biscuits, gravy, and bacon. We're a little light on the pictures this time, as I was running solo this time. I'm sure you'll get the idea.
First the biscuits. I'm a big fan of Bobby Flay, and I pulled his recipe for this one. That dude can cook. (I know it's a little silly to sing his props for biscuits...) Follow the directions, 18 minutes in the oven and DING, fries are done. You see that wad of left over dough right there? Yeah, that's good surprisingly good to nibble on too....
Next I turned my attention to the gravy. In a large skillet fry up 4 slices of bacon crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and crumble, drain the grease, and return the bacon to the pan. Add about 4 tablespoons of flour to the bacon and mix until evenly coated. Add 4 cups of milk to the pan with a little salt/pepper, and slowly bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring frequently, and allow to thicken until it reaches the desired consistency. Took about 15 minutes for me.
Bacon time! Get some oil in a Dutch oven or a fryer up to 375°F. Set up a cooling rack with paper towel to allow the bacon to rest after frying. I wanted to keep the batter light, so I used a tempura batter. I thought about a beer batter, but decided against it. The batter was very simple, 3 cups of flour, 3 cups of water, one egg. Mix that in a bowl and set aside.
Next setup a flour station. A cup or so of flower, a tablespoon of salt, and 1/2 a tablespoon of pepper. Mix those up in a shallow bowl and set up next to the batter.
Take a piece of bacon, dredge it in flour, dunk in the batter, and gently (GENTLY!) lay it into the hot oil. Cook about 10 minutes, flipping half way through. I did two slices at a time, any more and my oil would drop too much temperature.
Take out of the fryer and immediately sprinkle just a touch of salt if you want. The bacon itself is pretty salty, so you won't need much if any at all. If you timed everything right, you'll have a nice hot meal. If you didn't, well, it's not good cold :) Plate it up and serve! (any food items in a smiley face on a valentine's placemat has to be good for you)
The review... It was ok. Not great. The biscuits were very good, and the gravy was good. The bacon I thought could be better. It's mostly about the adventure, and it was good to try it once :) I don't think I could dirty up many more dishes if I tried. The wife thanked me plenty for that. I'm definitely going to do something sweet with the next recipe.
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