Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits and gravy is a popular breakfast dish in the southern parts of the United States. It consists of buttermilk biscuits covered in thick "country" or "white" gravy made from the drippings of cooked pork sausage, white flour, milk, and often bits of real sausage, bacon, ground beef, or other meat. The gravy is often flavored with black pepper. In some parts of the South this is also called sawmill gravy. The dish is best eaten soon after it is prepared, and is always served piping hot.
Milk Gravy (made with bacon drippings)
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2008
1/4 cup bacon grease
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk, warm
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoons pepper
2 tablespoons melted butter
Heat bacon grease in a cast iron skillet. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and bubbly about 1 minute. Add the warm milk slowly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and stir, until thickened, about 5 minutes, adding milk as necessary to control the thickness. Season the gravy with salt and pepper.
Serve hot over biscuits. Baking Powder Biscuits or the traditional Southern Buttermilk Biscuits are a good choice.
8 - 10 servings
Sausage Gravy
1/2 pound ground breakfast sausage.
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups cold milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauté the sausage until it is cooked and has released as much of its fat as possible. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and do NOT drain the grease. You’ll need it to make the roux.
You should have about 2 tablespoons of rendered pork fat. Add the butter and melt it. Then add the flour a little at a time over medium heat, constantly whisking. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
Now start adding the cold milk a little at a time, whisking incessantly. Toward the end of the milk, add the sausage back in. When you reach the desired consistency add salt and pepper to taste.
Cut hot buttermilk biscuits in half, pour the gravy over them, and enjoy one of the most embracing and comforting taste sensations known to man.
