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.
OrderConecuh 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 goThe Avondale 2012 sibling to Saw's BBQ runs a smaller room than the Homewood original, with a pork-and-greens plate locals defend hardest.
TipOrder 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 goTourists rarely cross the rail tracks to the Acipco-Finley district to find this 1957 cafeteria; locals queue for the catfish.
TipGet there by 12:30 for the fried catfish and turnip greens; weekday lunch is the peak.
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