Bread and dripping is a time honored British favorite that makes the most of tasty meat drippings coupled with chunks of crusty bread. Sometimes referred to as a mucky sandwich, bread-and-dripping once enjoyed a great deal of popularity in local pubs as well as in the home. In recent years, the dish has lost ground to more healthy alternatives, but it is still possible to find pubs that serve platters of thick slices of bread and dripping along with hearty British ales.

Generally, the drippings are the leftover animal fat from the preparation of beef or pork. It is not unusual for the dripping to include some small pieces of meat as well. The dripping is allowed to cool, so that the texture is the consistency of a think jelly. Once sufficiently gelled, the dripping is spread with a knife onto a slice of homemade bread and served at room temperature.

Some fans of bread and dripping choose to add more salt to the already salty concoction, giving the dish a little extra bite. Others prefer ample amounts of black pepper as a topping to the bread and dripping. In general, any desired spice can be used to add another dimension of flavor to the dish. This is especially true when bread and dripping is prepared in the home and served as a breakfast food.

While a time-honored favorite, bread and dripping is a dish that is loaded with fat, cholesterol and carbohydrates. In recent years, people who love the concept of bread and dripping but are trying to manage intake of these elements have chosen to omit the use of animal fat in the dish. Such substitutes as peanut or olive oil with a few spices added have become the norm in some pubs around the United Kingdom, making is possible to at least cut a fair amount of the cholesterol and fat from this accompaniment to a pint or a stiff shot of whiskey.