Cooking Lesson #117 Chicken-Fried Bacon & Country Gravy

County Fair Week

Deep-Fried Bacon & Country Gravy; photo credit: drinksfeed.com

How you doin’? At of all the things I miss most about not going to restaurant is the fried food. I love fried chicken and French fries and fish and chips and that’s why I love going to county fairs. 

At the Los Angeles Country Fair and county and state fairs across the country, fried is king! No kidding, if it walks salute it, and if it doesn’t fry it. Aside from the Corn Dog recipe from earlier in the week, there’s fried green tomatoes, fried pickles, fried chicken, fried pizza, fried ice cream and yes, I even seen fried escargot (French snails) and so much more. It seems concessionaires try to outdo themselves finding new things to fry every year.
 
A couple of years ago I found a concessionaire deep frying bacon. I mean, really that’s like deep frying butter. Oh, wait a minute, there was actually deep-fried butter at the fair, too, so why not batter dipped Chicken-Fried Bacon?
 
When I was frying the bacon up in the test kitchen one of my associates said that it would also make a fantastic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Just when I thought a BLT couldn’t be any better, BOOM! It’s also a great brunch treat and can easily be used as a topper for a hamburger (at the fair or not) and in a new-fangled breakfast egg and bacon biscuit. Once you add the gravy it is an essential southern treat and the uses are seemingly endless.
 
Batten down the hatches (or something like that) and give this recipe a try.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Fry time:  10 to 12 minutes (bacon and gravy)
Yields:  12 servings
 
Ingredients
For the bacon batter
2 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
12 slices thick-cut bacon (I prefer Benton Bacon)
1 quart vegetable oil
 
For the gravy
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika (if you’ve got it)
 
Directions
To fry the bacon

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Place the flour in a separate shallow bowl and season generously with black pepper.
2. Dredge the bacon in the seasoned flour first, then in egg mixture, then back in flour.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil (it should reach 1" up the side of pan) until a pinch of flour starts to bubble when added to oil.
4. Add the bacon and fry until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the fried bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool slightly.

To make gravy

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook until golden and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer.
3. Season with salt, pepper and paprika, if using.
4. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. (It will thicken as it cools!) Remove from the heat.
5. Serve the fried bacon with gravy on the side for dipping.

ChefSecret:  Let the bacon drain on paper towels and cool for several minutes after coming out of the fryer so that it won’t burn anyone.
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