Making Biscuits & Gravy like my mom's?

Question

I have been going through all of the recipes for this on line and not finding anything that seems like it would be like my mom's.

I can not eat restaurant B&G and my mom is sadly no longer here. I am suffering withdrawal. How were hers different? Well I know she used bacon grease instead of sausage grease and she browned a small amount of flour so that her gravy was NOT snowy white NOR floury tasting like so many restaurants. It was also NOT brown and greasy like the nasty stuff at Bob Evans. We always crumbled her homemade biscuits on a plate and topped with tons of gravy. She cooked this in a #8 iron skillet that was full to the brim. Recipes I am finding either show a picture of this very white gravy or call for 2-3 cups of milk and I know that is not right. I know she made her biscuits w/ flour (what kind?) and cooking oil only. She then cut them w/ a glass and made a dent in center of each w/ her thumb and put a small amount of butter in that. So light and fluffy! Ideas???

Answer 1

sorry about your mom..i use bisquick to make biscuits..but i use buttermilk instead of whole or 2%. they turn out light and fluffy and taste as close to homeade as I could possibly hope for. As for the gravy.. cook your bacon till done. drain off 1/2 cup of bacon grease. take your spatula and scrape all the bacon that may be stuck to the skillet. turn heat ot med...add three tablespoons of flour to grease and stir till smooth. Add 1/2 cup of milk, stir, it should be thick, now add 1/2 cup of water, stir,if it is not the consistancy you would like alternate liquids till you get what you want. after consistancy is reached let cook while stirring constantly for around two minutes. season with a litte black pepper, sage (if you like) and a little salt remember bacon is alrady salty. good gravy takes practice.good luck

Answer 2

At my daughter's request I just taught her how to make ham biscuits and gravy like my Mom did. You can substitute bacon for the ham.
In a large iron skillet heat a 1/2 stick of butter (add butter later if you use bacon because you'll want to drain some of the grease).
Make sure that you get it good and brown that's where your color comes from. In a bowl mix 1 -2 tablespoons of flour along with 3 cups of milk. Remove the meat from your pan and add the milk mixture. Stir well. Take it to the boiling point but don't let it boil. Add more milk if you want it thinner. To thicken it add a TBS of flour to some milk and mix it well and add to the pan. When the gravy is the right consistency add your meat back to the pan, reduce the heat and let simmer while making your biscuits.
For easy and good biscuits use "Bisquick" mix. Just follow the recipe on the box. My Mom used the drop method but you can do the cut-out. They cook quickly and are easy to burn so really watch them. The next time you make this it will be very easy. The whole thing only takes about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Answer 3

Cook your meat and leave it in the pan. Drain the grease from your meat unless its all bacon. Add some bacon grease for the bacon flavor.

Sprinkle enough flour over the meat to lightly cover. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes to cook the flour and eliminate that flour taste. Slowly add milk to the mixture, allowing it to thicken. continue to add milk until you have the desired quantity and thickness of gravy.

If it gets too thick, reduce the heat and add a bit more milk. Season all along to suit your own tastes. The brown color can be enhanced if the meat juices and bacon grease don't give the desired appearance by adding a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet.

As for the bisquits, any good recipe will do but the secret is to NOT over knead the dough and DON'T twist the cutter...straight through one time and set it aside.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Nobody can ever duplicate moms cooking. She knows just how much of everything to put in. A pinch of this, a dot of that, 3 skoshes of another item. They are regular kitchen magicians. If she were alive today, I'll bet if you called her and asked for the recipe, she wouldn't be able to give it to you. She can make you the best meals in the world, but she can't tell you how to make it. Try this, next time you are around some elders, ask them how they make their specialty, and I'll bet not one of them will have a written recipe.