Southern Biscuit and Gravy Chips
What a unique idea for a chip? Actually, when you think about it the most cohesive chip ideas come from a nice, carb-centric base similar to a potato. That way, you already have the starch covered, and then you can focus on the "topping" that will coat the chip and bring out the vibrant, unique flavor you're trying to achieve. That's why I went into this eat pretty confident of Frito-Lays ability to pull this one off. The problem is... where do you find authentic Southern Biscuits and Gravy in the NY metro area?? Sure, I could search the InterWeb, or follow recommendations from friends to pay top dollar at a restaurant, but instead I employed the help of a SUPER chef, and long time friend to pull off this tricky pairing.
To your left are homemade "drop biscuits" courtesy of my buddy, "pirate Steve". He's not an actual pirate, but he is a chef and does occasionally say, "Yar" when the mood strikes. I knew he was the one to approach for this undertaking. I told him what I was doing, and he was happy to accommodate. These bad boys were homemade, soft, delicious, and GORGEOUS. When he brought them over and presented them to me, I couldn't have been happier. I know they are a slightly different "style" of southern biscuits that are different from the layered kind in the picture, but they are SO scrumtrulescent that they fit the mold perfectly for being representative in capturing the essence of a home cooked southern biscuit. Then came the follow up punch...
This gravy was amazing. Thick, creamy, and a little kick of black pepper for spice. I know that the shot here makes it look overly thick, but I assure you that it draped over the biscuits like a velvet cloak. Holding onto the natural fats nicely, this southern-style gravy had nice, chunky pieces of sausage and a rich, vibrany flavor that wrapped itself perfectly around the biscuits. I realized that I had set myself up similarly to the Reuben by finding the ideal representation of Southern Biscuits and Gravy to pair with the Lay's chip. Nevertheless, it was time.
I'm not sure if Frito-Lay was trying to mimic chicken or sausage gravy, but the pic on the front of the bag had me leaning toward sausage. When you bit into the traditional dish, you get a gluttonous mix of cream, sausage, spice and fat. It's divine. Cutting through all the layers of cream, meat and carbs leaves your taste buds bouncing around from one satisfying taste to another. However there isn't an overwhelming group of flavors to grab onto. I became confident that the profile might be simple enough to replicate.
The chip itself is unassuming. I was impressed at how little "color" there was in the spicing. I expected to see some black color for the pepper, or some white sprinkle of powder, but for the most part the chip seemed a bit "underdressed". Nevertheless, I had faith and dove right in.
I get what they were trying to do. As I stated earlier, there's already a solid base to work with around the chip covering that foundation of "biscuit". Creamy flavors of what I can only imagine was a "repurposed" sour cream flavor were used to cover the creamy aspect of the gravy. It wasn't so oniony to be a close correlation to the traditional Lay's Sour Cream and Onion chip, but it wasn't far off. The problem was they forgot the pepper! Any strong chip enthusiast has grabbed the occasional bag of salt & black pepper chips, so I know first hand that there's no fear in having a peppery chip on the market. In THIS application, that one ingredient was TOTALLY key. Leaving off the black pepper is a cardinal sin. I can't understand what made Frito-Lay overlook that spice, or think that this chip could be representative without it? That one ingredient would have elevated this chip from simply being the red-headed step child of the sour cream & onion, to its own functioning and independent chip in the snack-iverse. It s a real shame that nobody in QA caught that one before it went out the door. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this chip about a 5 because it wasn't a fail, but it certainly wasn't a revelation. Sometimes, it's the little things that get neglected and delate the overall result of the eating experience. In a head to head battle with an authentic version of Southern biscuits and gravy, this chip just didn't cut it. Even if it were being used to remind someone of the biscuits and gravy experience, I would say that if you stared at the bag long enough while you were eating it, you could convince yourself that the feeling was there. If anything, it was a nice side with the dish itself, but by no means could it stand on its own.
To your left are homemade "drop biscuits" courtesy of my buddy, "pirate Steve". He's not an actual pirate, but he is a chef and does occasionally say, "Yar" when the mood strikes. I knew he was the one to approach for this undertaking. I told him what I was doing, and he was happy to accommodate. These bad boys were homemade, soft, delicious, and GORGEOUS. When he brought them over and presented them to me, I couldn't have been happier. I know they are a slightly different "style" of southern biscuits that are different from the layered kind in the picture, but they are SO scrumtrulescent that they fit the mold perfectly for being representative in capturing the essence of a home cooked southern biscuit. Then came the follow up punch...
This gravy was amazing. Thick, creamy, and a little kick of black pepper for spice. I know that the shot here makes it look overly thick, but I assure you that it draped over the biscuits like a velvet cloak. Holding onto the natural fats nicely, this southern-style gravy had nice, chunky pieces of sausage and a rich, vibrany flavor that wrapped itself perfectly around the biscuits. I realized that I had set myself up similarly to the Reuben by finding the ideal representation of Southern Biscuits and Gravy to pair with the Lay's chip. Nevertheless, it was time.
The chip itself is unassuming. I was impressed at how little "color" there was in the spicing. I expected to see some black color for the pepper, or some white sprinkle of powder, but for the most part the chip seemed a bit "underdressed". Nevertheless, I had faith and dove right in.
I get what they were trying to do. As I stated earlier, there's already a solid base to work with around the chip covering that foundation of "biscuit". Creamy flavors of what I can only imagine was a "repurposed" sour cream flavor were used to cover the creamy aspect of the gravy. It wasn't so oniony to be a close correlation to the traditional Lay's Sour Cream and Onion chip, but it wasn't far off. The problem was they forgot the pepper! Any strong chip enthusiast has grabbed the occasional bag of salt & black pepper chips, so I know first hand that there's no fear in having a peppery chip on the market. In THIS application, that one ingredient was TOTALLY key. Leaving off the black pepper is a cardinal sin. I can't understand what made Frito-Lay overlook that spice, or think that this chip could be representative without it? That one ingredient would have elevated this chip from simply being the red-headed step child of the sour cream & onion, to its own functioning and independent chip in the snack-iverse. It s a real shame that nobody in QA caught that one before it went out the door. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give this chip about a 5 because it wasn't a fail, but it certainly wasn't a revelation. Sometimes, it's the little things that get neglected and delate the overall result of the eating experience. In a head to head battle with an authentic version of Southern biscuits and gravy, this chip just didn't cut it. Even if it were being used to remind someone of the biscuits and gravy experience, I would say that if you stared at the bag long enough while you were eating it, you could convince yourself that the feeling was there. If anything, it was a nice side with the dish itself, but by no means could it stand on its own.
In case you were curious... yes... I shared. I wasn't allowed to eat my "special snack" without him.
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| Does my son eat off a Mickey Mouse glove plate almost every day?? To paraphrase Jack Nicholson, "You're #@!%-damn right he does!!" |
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