We noticed McDonald’s has been offering biscuits and gravy for a dollar. We normally swear never to eat McDonald’s for many reasons, but thought we’d have a little fun. We decided to find all the fast food restaurants offering biscuits and gravy on their menu, purchase one order and then compare and contrast. Fun experiment, right?!
Hardees, Mcdonald’s, and Steak ‘N’ Shake were the only fast food restaurants we found that offered biscuits and gravy. Each were significantly different in look, taste, and smell. I personally knew which one would probably be my favorite due to some fond memories and history with a particular restaurant’s offering, but I was going to be open minded!
McDonald’s
The first we decided to try was McDonald’s. They were a dollar for us, but noticed other stores around were selling them for more. We didn’t think it’d be very good, so we really just wanted to get it out of the way. When we picked up the order we couldn’t help but notice it had an overpowering canned cat food smell. You know, the kind you get for those little furry felines as a treat. So, needless to say, the smell itself wasn’t that appetizing. When we opened the box, the food had slid all over and the biscuits were sitting upon each other in a modge podge fashion. I’m not sure if it was from the drive home, but it didn’t look very neat. Finally, the taste. In my opinion, they were OK. You could tell the biscuit was of a pre-frozen variety. It as a little dry and tough. The gravy was very salty, runny/thin, and overly seasoned. The sausage in the gravy was very crumbled and a little bit spongy. All in all, I felt McDonald’s was working too hard to disguise some not so great biscuits and gravy: health and taste wise.
Steak ‘N Shake
Steak ‘N Shake runs about $3.50 for a full order of biscuits and gravy. They smelled a LOT better than McDonald’s biscuits and gravy, so there was hope for look and taste. It had a buttery biscuit and nice gravy smell, slightly hinted with sausage and pepper seasoning. Upon opening the bag, we found a box of two biscuits each split in half and a separate with gravy in it. This made transfer a lot easier and cleaner. It was an added bonus to be able to poor the gravy on the biscuits ourselves. The biscuits were light and fluffy, with a crisp buttery outside. The gravy was good, too, but I admit a little bland. It looked yellow as well, which I didn’t find appetizing to the eyes. Sausage was delicious. Putting the entire meal together, I would say it was GOOD, just not quite great.
Hardee’s
Hardee’s was our final try. They run about three dollars, but on Sundays in some places they’re $1.25. When we picked it up it was piping hot and smelled warm, buttery, and delicious. When we opened the bag we found the container had one biscuit and a container of gravy waiting for us. The whole biscuit not split allowed it to retain more heat than the Steak ‘N Shake ones. The gravy was a beautiful white color that I enjoyed visually. The biscuit tasted warm and fresh (since Hardee’s is known to make them fresh every morning in the store!), buttery, flakey, and fluffy. The gravy was evenly seasoned with pepper and it tasted smooth and light. The sausage was in nice chunks with lots of flavor.
Out of the three restaurants, my bias won with me and Jonathan. We thought Hardee’s had by far the best fast food biscuits and gravy there was to offer in our neck of the woods. We also agreed if given the choice, we’d have Steak ‘N Shake’s again. As for McDonald’s, for the price of a dollar I guess it was okay, but there’s no way we’d order it again. It just didn’t have what it needed to get us to want to go back. (In fact, we’ve vowed never to return for any purpose)
As for making at home, here’s a great recipe I made this morning for the two of us: Babblefood
I used pork and bacon sausage as well as skim milk (set for 5 min. with 1 1/2 Tablespoons of lemon juice as a buttermilk substitute) as adaptations for what I had in my kitchen. I also think that the milk for the biscuits needs to be decreased to 1 cup rather than 1 1/2 cups to have a more pliable dough than a goop (it still worked though!). Enjoy!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Fun contest – I cant eat mc donalds either, so dont feel too bad! The other two places dont even have locations in my area, so I’ll have to wait till next year to give them a try
Yes it was fun, but we did almost fall into a food coma afterward — even though we didn’t actually eat it all. It was the heavy food, I guess. I was thinking that maybe Carl’s Jr. might have the biscuits and gravy (since I think they’re similar to Hardee’s, but they didn’t show it on their online menu/nutrition). Guess you’ll just have to be delighted the next time you visit an area with them, I suggest Hardee’s though!