Last night we had Breakfast for dinner. I know to some of you out there this may seem strange or out of the ordinary, but growing up my mom used to make Breakfast for Dinner all the time and we loved it as kids. Come to find out so does my family it really makes a easy night for me. I try to make breakfast at least twice a month. We love sausage gravy but Milk Gravy with Bacon is such a nice change. I learned how to make bacon gravy years ago from my grandmother by marriage. Goodness that was about 20 yers ago. She really knew how to cook all those great southern meals from scratch.
I loved to watch her cook, she never measured anything but I caught on very fast. I was so proud the first time I made bacon gravy all by myself. I have since remarried and grandmother has passed one, but her gravy holds a special place in my heart. I still cherish the times I spent in the kitchen cooking and learning the wisdom she had in the kitchen. It is something I will never forget. This recipe is pretty easy to make, it might take a bit of practice to get it down just right, but you will get it. Everytime I make this gravy it reminds me of her.
To start you need bacon grease. Either from frying up some bacon or using your reserved stock of grease. Every great southerner has a jar of reserved of bacon grease in the fridge. I know I do. Start by heating the reserved bacon grease in skillet and stir in the flour. Continue stirring until the flour absorbs all of the fat. Add the salt and black pepper. Start out with the smaller amount of pepper and add more later if desired.
Slowly stir in the milk a little at a time. Use a whisk or a fork to prevent lumps. Continue adding milk and whisking or stirring at the same time until the milk is added to the gravy. Let the mixture come to a boil. Allow it to boil gently for about 5 minutes. It will thicken nicely. Taste the gravy and see if you need to add any additional salt and pepper.
Bacon, cut into small pieces, bacon slices OR 1/4 cup bacon grease
(see note below)
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (to taste)
3 cups milk (I use half Milk and half Water)
It all starts with bacon of course. You can cut the bacon into small pieces, but my family doesn't like the bacon pieces in the gravy they like more of a smooth gravy instead and bacon on the side. Put bacon into a large skillet and fry it over medium heat. Or if your like me it's so much easier to cook the bacon in the oven. I cook mine at 350 degrees on a foil lined baking sheet. Turn bacon once or twice as the bacon cooks it will release it's fat. When the bacon is done remove and drain on paper towels. Pour about 1/4 cup of the bacon grease from the baking sheet into a skillet. Heat the reserved bacon grease in skillet and stir in the flour. Continue stirring until the flour absorbs all of the fat. Add the salt and black pepper.Start out with the smaller amount of pepper and add more later if desired. Slowly stir in the milk a little at a time. Use a whisk or a fork to prevent lumps. Continue adding milk and whisking or stirring at the same time until the milk is added to the gravy. Let the mixture come to a boil. Allow it to boil gently for about 5 minutes. It will thicken nicely. Taste the gravy and see if you need to add any additional salt and pepper. Serve over toast or biscuits. My family prefers biscuit, and yes as you can see in the picture I do cheat and use Pillsbury Grands Biscuits. Funny thing is i can make homemade gravy but i stink at making homemade biscuits. Maybe one day i will get it down until then these will do just fine.
NOTE: Essentially, bacon grease is the fat left in the pan after frying bacon. It is best stored in a clean jar in the refrigerator. Every time bacon is cooked, pour any leftover grease into the jar. It is used mostly for frying and seasoning. Bacon Fat lends a very special flavor to food that is hard to duplicate. *If you don't have bacon, but you do have bacon grease, then use 1/4 cup of bacon grease instead of the bacon. Heat it in the skillet until it is bubbly. Stir in the flour and proceed as directed.
I am happy to say since I have made this post I can finally bake homemade buttermilk biscuits. That is quite a accomplishment for me.
13 comments:
Hi Tina... Oh how I tried to make this the other night, but my gravy was lumpy. I used my wisk and I thought my hand would fall off but the lumps stayed. What did I do wrong?
Hi kks, the only way i can prevent lumps in my gravy is after i add the flour to the grease. Slowly add the milk a little at a time mix with the whisk then add more milk and whisk and milk keep doing that until you have added all your milk and the gravy is the consistencey that you want.
I used to have problems making homemade gravy. Now that I make it so much more often you just start to get the hang of it. Believe me i have had my share of glooey messes of gravy. It just takes practice.
Thanks for the quick response...will try it again. YA know being from Texas..We gotta have us some Bisquits and Gravy!!
KKs....if you add the flour to a jar with a lid, then add only enough milk to soak it....cover and shake well, then add it to the drippings. I found that this will usually take care of any lumping problems
I just made biscuits and gravy for the first time and I failed miserably lol. My Son and Wife are having Mac 'n' Cheese tonight now. =P It was really thick and had 0 taste. Any idea where I went wrong?
FYI I'm a total novice in the kitchen and this was my first attempt at making something besides something frozen.
Thanks in advance.
Sorry it didnt turn out. When making gravy you have to slowly ad your milk or liquid so it doesnt thicken up on you so quick. You could of just added more milk or half milk and water is what i do. Keep using your whisk until it gets to the consistencey you want. Milk gravy takes lots of salt and pepper.
2nd attempt went perfect! I also used your method for baking bacon this time and it made life much easier. Thanks!
Hi Jesse, I am so glad it worked out the second time. I hate to say it but when making milk gravy it really is practice makes perfect. I remember a long time ago about 20
years ago when I was married the first time around. My MIL taught me how to make that gravy, well i tried it and made the best wall paper paste you ever did see. LOL so you see it just takes a bit to get it down. I kept doing it and the gravy got better each time. You will figure out the ratio of milk/water to flour to make your own perfect consistency. Yeah for you!!!
just made this gravy and the look and texture is great, but it has no flavor at all. i even used fresh bacon grease; rendered it right before i started the gravy. what's happened?
I am not sure it usually has a great bacon flavor from the grease. How much did you use? Plus lots of pepper and salt. Not to much salt because it gets salt from the bacon grease.
i just stumbled across this recipe, and just have a quick question about saving the bacon grease.... i think this is a brilliant idea but have a few questions.. 1- do you strain the grease to get out any bacon bits? and 2- what kind of shelf life does this stuff have in the fridge? thanks so much! i have your candy bacon in the oven as i type! smells amazing!
I have never seen this recipe posted! My mom is southern and we ate this as children. I love it and make it every so often as we are constantly watching our weight. Northern people tend to have chipped beef in their gravy. This is so much more yummy because of the bacon dripping! :) I serve it with High as the Sky biscuits when I do take a notion to serve it!:)
Hi Tina, I am new to your site.
So excited to try some of these recipes - they look fab!
This one in particular caught my eye. I had biscuits and bacon gravy years ago for breakfast after spending the night at a friends house. I've never seen an actual recipe for it until now and I cannot wait to make it for my family.
Thank you for sharing!
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