Big Bad Breakfast ★ 4.5
Big Bad Breakfast on Highway 280 Birmingham serves John Currence's canonical Southern brunch with Conecuh sausage gravy and the buttermilk biscuit weekends.
Order: Conecuh sausage gravy and biscuit
History
Conecuh Sausage Company was founded in Evergreen Alabama in 1947 by Henry Sessions and remains the dominant Alabama smoked-sausage producer. The hickory-smoked pork links became the canonical sausage on Birmingham brunch plates, in red beans and rice, on the grill and on the Conecuh-pancake Christmas plate. Big Bad Breakfast on Highway 280 runs the Conecuh sausage gravy and biscuit as a signature; Saw's Soul Kitchen puts Conecuh on the side of the pulled-pork plate.
Common allergens: Pork
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 500g Conecuh hickory-smoked sausage (or any quality hickory-smoked pork sausage)
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Hot sauce to taste
- Cornbread or biscuits to serve
Method
- Slice the Conecuh sausage on the diagonal into 1cm rounds.
- Melt the butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers, cook 5 minutes until softening.
- Add the sausage rounds and cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning, until lightly charred on both sides.
- Season with black pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce.
- Serve over cornbread or with split biscuits and grits.
Tip from the editors. If Conecuh isn't available in your area, use any hickory-smoked Alabama or Tennessee pork sausage; avoid Italian-seasoned varieties.
Where to eat conecuh sausage
Conecuh sausage in Birmingham
Saw's Soul Kitchen ★ 4.3
Saw's Soul Kitchen on 41st Street South Avondale is the 2012 Brandon Cain sibling to Saw's BBQ, mixing Alabama white sauce barbecue with soul-food sides.
Why locals love it: The Avondale 2012 sibling to Saw's BBQ runs a smaller room than the Homewood original, with a pork-and-greens plate locals defend hardest.
Tip: Order the pork-and-greens stuffed sandwich; the banana pudding has a smaller crowd than the Homewood location.
Niki's West ★ 4.8
Niki's West on Finley Avenue West Birmingham has run the meat-and-three from a cafeteria steam table since 1957, opposite the Alabama Farmers Market.
Why locals love it: Tourists rarely cross the rail tracks to the Acipco-Finley district to find this 1957 cafeteria; locals queue for the catfish.
Tip: Get there by 12:30 for the fried catfish and turnip greens; weekday lunch is the peak.
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