Grace Cowan's Biscuits and Egg Gravy with Fresh Side

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 450° F. Make your preferred biscuit dough. (Grandmother would pour Bisquick into a large bowl and add milk without measuring, stirring until a thick dough came together.)
2. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, press out the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter or small jelly jar. Drizzle oil into a high-sided baking pan and rub each biscuit in oil as you place in the pan, turning to coat all sides. Biscuits should be touching at the edges. Bake about 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to coat bottom generously. Salt and pepper each piece of fresh side, back and front, and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess. (Save the excess flour for step 4.) Lay the fresh side pieces in the hot pan in a single layer. Fry until golden brown on both sides, turning with tongs as needed. Remove slices with tongs and drain in serving bowl lined with paper towels.
4. If the oil left in the pan is excessive, pour off some, reserving, until there's a thin layer. Over medium heat, crack eggs into the pan one at a time, scrambling as you go with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Once the eggs are soft-scrambled, sprinkle in about 1/3 cup of flour. Continue to stir as you brown the flour lightly. You may need to add more oil so flour will brown.
5. Pour about 3 cups of the milk in slowly, stirring continuously. Simmer the gravy, stirring occasionally, until it's thickened. If it's too thick, add more milk. If it's too thin, mix together a small amount of flour and water and add, then simmer to thicken. Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with biscuits and fresh side.