Chicken fried bacon consists of bacon strips dredged in batter and

deep fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

, like chicken fried steak. It is an American dish that was introduced in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in the early 1990s. Frank Sodolak of Sodolak's Original Country Inn in

Snook, Texas Snook is a city in Burleson County, Texas, United States. The population was 506 at the 2020 census. Snook is home to Frank Sodolak of Sodolak's Original Country Inn, the inventor and first known restaurant to serve chicken fried bacon. Snook i ...

, states that he invented the dish; however, there is a similar recipe in the 1954 cookbook ''Louisiana Cookery'' by Mary Land which uses salt pork instead of bacon. It is usually served as an appetizer with

cream gravy Gravy is a sauce often made from the juices of meats that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with wheat flour or corn starch for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a simple mix of salt an ...

sausage gravy Sausage gravy is a traditional Southern breakfast dish in the United States. After loose pork sausage is cooked in a pan and removed, a roux is formed by browning flour in the residual fat. Milk and seasonings, such as salt and pepper, are adde ...

for dipping and sauce.

Notoriety

Sodolak's version of the dish acquired enough of a reputation to be featured in Texas comedian John Kelso's ''Texas Curiosities''. The entry states that "Things are not only bigger in Texas, they're greasier" and that "it's hard to imagine a more artery-clogging food." Sodolak's version serves six strips of bacon, battered and fried, with a bowl of cream gravy. He and his restaurant were featured on a ''

Texas Country Reporter ''Texas Country Reporter'' is a weekly syndicated television program, hosted and produced by Bob Phillips and Kelli Phillips, which airs in all twenty-two Texas media markets, generally on weekends, and nationally on the satellite/cable channel ...

'' episode; the web video has been watched hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube.

Versions

Chicken fried bacon made by Glen Kusak of south Texas won the Big Tex Choice Award for Best Taste in the 2008

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. In recent years, the dish has made its way across America and it is served in Chicago at the Risque Cafe in Lake View. The Risque Cafe's version of "country-fried bacon" is served with white gravy and sells for $6. It is prepared using an egg wash, dredged in heavily peppered flour and deep fried in vegetable oil. The café's chef, Andrew Niemeyer, said he "played around with the idea" while a student of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (he graduated in 2005).

Health issues

Since the dish is rich in saturated fat, the majority of health experts who favor

low-fat diet A low-fat diet is one that restricts fat, and often saturated fat and cholesterol as well. Low-fat diets are intended to reduce the occurrence of conditions such as heart disease and obesity. For weight loss, they perform similarly to a low-carb ...

s suggest consuming it in moderation or not at all. Sally Squires of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' acknowledged chicken fried bacon's appeal to the palate, but suggests moderation.Response to "Guilty in Virginia," in Other experts note the dish's low nutritional benefits: "They've taken fat, they've double-coated it in fat, they've fried it in more fat, and then they've served it with a side order of fat." Jane Hurley, senior nutritionist at the

Center for Science in the Public Interest The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods. History and funding CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization. Its ...

in Washington, D.C., stated she's "never heard of anything worse."

References

External links

Snook Texas roadfood video
Texas County Reporter - Chicken Fried Bacon (YouTube)
Recipezaar
- Chicken Fried Bacon with Cream Gravy {{DEFAULTSORT:Chicken Fried Bacon Bacon dishes Deep fried foods Texan cuisine American pork dishes Appetizers

Notoriety

Versions

Health issues

See also

References

External links