Southern Cream Gravy...

There are few things in this world I love more than a plate of homemade biscuits and gravy.  I never really cared about them growing up, but when I started dating Micah, his mom made them for me once, and I couldn't get enough.  Now they're probably my favorite breakfast food.

I'll have to share her homemade biscuit recipe some other time, but today I'll tell you how she makes her southern cream gravy.  And then you'll thank me forever. :)

The ingredients are simple.  You need bacon drippings, flour, milk, salt, and pepper.  And I promise you, that's all you need.

So go ahead and fry up some bacon.

Oh, bacon.  How I love thee.  (But if for some reason you're crazy and are not a bacon lover, you can just as easily use vegetable oil.)

Once the bacon is finished (if you're curious, for me, finished means crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle), set aside the drippings.  Put them in a medium saucepan on medium heat.

The grease should still be pretty darned hot, so it shouldn't take long for it to get hot enough to add the flour.  If you want to check and see if it's ready, sprinkle a bit of flour in the pan.

If it bubbles, it's ready to go and you can add your flour.  Measure in the flour, and whisk it into the grease.  You should get a paste-like roux.

Now, the name of the game is whisking continuously.  Keep on a-whisking until the roux starts turning golden brown. 

Then, add in your milk.  And keep on whisking.

If you don't whisk it continuously, you'll get burned gravy on the bottom of the pan.  And burned gravy is a sin.  So, for the love of all that is holy, keep whisking. 

After about five minutes, you'll feel it start to thicken up a bit.  Depending on how much milk you add, you'll probably need to keep whisking.  It usually takes me about ten minutes to get to the consistency I like.

When it's almost done, add your salt and pepper to taste.  Be sure and add plenty of both, y'all.  You can't really over-pepper this stuff, and the salt brings out the flavor.

Once it's done, pour it over your biscuits, add a side of bacon, and enjoy yourself a proper Southern breakfast.

Southern Cream Gravy Recipe

serves four

Ingredients

1/2 c. bacon drippings (or vegetable oil)

1/2 c. flour

5 c. milk (more or less, depending on how thick you like your gravy)

1 t. salt (I'm estimating - could be more or less depending on your preference)

1 t. pepper

Directions

Heat bacon drippings on medium heat.  When hot, whisk in flour to make a roux.  Whisk continuously until roux turns golden brown, likely a minute or less.  Pour in milk.  Whisk continuously until gravy reaches desired consistency, eight to ten minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy y'all!