My Breakfast

Just a quick post this morning.  I have to run some errands on my day off.  We have some new bacon so I figured I would create something tasty this morning.  The new bacon is cured with fennel and red pepper flakes.  Obviously nothing starts the day better than bacon.  Initially I was going to make something conventional like bacon and scrambled eggs, but obviously we were out of eggs.  The next thing that came to me was grits.  Grits are a treasure of southern cooking and just thinking about a big creamy pile of grits with crispy bacon perched beside it made my mouth water.  I decided to make a slight twist on the classic dish.  I looked in the fridge to see what inspired me.  Leeks seemed like a nice touch, but I didn't have any appropriate cheese to balance the flavor of the leeks.  Then I spied a little container of creme fraiche that needed to be used up.  This would provide a creamy balance to the grits while adding a nice lightly sour touch.   Well it turned out lovely and hopefully y'all will enjoy it too.

Fennel and Red Pepper Bacon   

5 lb pork belly
1/4 lb of kosher salt
5 teaspoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons pink salt
4 tablespoons crushed fennel
3 chiles de arbol, ground

Grits and Crispy Leeks with Fennel and Red Pepper Bacon

3 pieces of Fennel and Red Pepper Bacon
4 tablespoons of grits
1 cup of water
1/3 cup of milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 of a leek sliced thin
2 tablespoons of chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
ground black pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper

Cook the bacon over low heat to render as much fat and to ensure the bacon is crispy.  After the bacon is cooked, add the leeks and cook until slightly brown add the stock and deglaze the pan and allow the leeks to briefly absorb some of the liquid.  Bring the water to a boil and then add the grits, salt and milk.  Lower the temperature and cover and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the grits have set to the consistency that you like.  Add the leeks and pan juices to the grits along with the creme fraiche, cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste. 

Comments

[Joseph]

You omitted the amount of grits required in the recipe.

[Carl Moberg]

Sorry about that, I've updated the recipe to include the amount of grits. Cheers for catching my mistake.