Rocking Breakfast – Recipe #2

Last month I was lucky and got to go to Josh Coletto’s Rock & Roll Brunch. It’s only once a month, and that day I had signed up to volunteer for something important. Anyhow, by some kind of freak accident, the volunteer assignments got shuffled around and I found myself free to enjoy some local grassfed chicken fried steak with gravy, a biscuit and an egg.

Man, it had been a long time since I had chicken fried steak. It’s a good thing I got to The Low Beat early because the steak was the first thing to sell out later that day.

If you don’t know, Josh changes up the menu for these brunches every time. The only thing that stays the same are the biscuits and gravy (either sausage or vegetarian friendly mushroom). Seriously, if my schedule were more relenting I’d be at these every month. On Sunday, when the Rock & Roll Brunch is happening, I’m going to be in Providence. There’s good breakfast there too, but I’d love to try Josh’s wild hive grits with blackened tempeh. I’m sure the shrimp version is good too, but I find the vegetarian option to be intriguing.

Anyhow, Josh and I have worked out a little deal. He’s agreed to share some of his recipes with readers of the FLB, and I’ve agreed to remind people to check out his monthly labor of love. This month’s recipe may be the best thing from the best dish of last month’s brunch.

Here is how Josh describes the gravy he made for the chicken fried steak:

“So this isn’t the most traditional gravy out there, it’s somewhere in between what people would call a Red-Eye Gravy and Sawmill Gravy. However, it’s incredibly delicious…especially on crispy fried meat.”

Sawmill Gravy
1/2 lb slab bacon, cut into lardons (1/4″ x 1/4″ x 1″)
1/3 cup of all purpose flour
2 cups strong coffee
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1.) On low heat, render bacon lardons in pan until crispy. Once crispy remove from the pan and set aside leaving all that delicious fat in there.
2.) Add the flour to the fat and stir to make a roux. Cook for just a minute and keep from browning.
3.) Slowly mix in your coffee, whisking vigorously as to not have any lumps. When coffee is fully incorporated add cream. Bring to a boil to allow the flour to fully thicken the gravy.
4.) Season with salt and pepper and add more coffee/cream if needed to achieve desired consistency.
5.) Pour over anything you may want to eat.

Oh wow. Well, that would explain why it was so freaking delicious. As someone with a fat and salt tooth this just made me incredibly happy. But there are plenty of dishes available for those with a sweet tooth.

Sunday’s menu can be found here. Hopefully you can go, since the next Rock & Roll Brunch isn’t happening until December. Still you may be able to catch Josh at some of the Chefs Consortium events in Albany. The next one is on Thursday at The City Beer Hall. I can’t make that either.

So little time. So much to do. But at least I’ve now got a killer recipe for gravy.