Biscuits and Gravy
Homemade buttermilk biscuits with a white sausage gravy, topped with fresh chopped sage
Ingredients
Biscuits
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 cup buttermilk
Gravy & Garnish
1 bunch fresh sage leaves
1/2 pound breakfast sausage (i.e. Farmer John classic pork links)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 cups whole milk
1.5 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Biscuits
Preheat oven to 425 °F. You will need to use the center rack. Grease a cookie sheet
Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl until combined
Sprinkle the butter slices in and use your fingertips to smash the butter into the mixture. You will want to do this until the mixture is a coarse meal, or kinda like little butter pebbles.
Add the buttermilk in a stir with a spoon or spatula to combine, just enough to where you can turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead it into a ball
Split the dough up into 8 even portions. Roll each portion into a ball and flatten down to form the biscuits.
Place these on the greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Cook for 15-20 minutes
Gravy & Garnish
Timing works best if you start this while the biscuits are baking.
Use a large nonstick pan and cook the sausage. Brown all sides and cut it into bite size chunks. Drain the cooked sausage into a bowl lined with paper towel. Drain out the oil from the pan as well.
Make the roux: Melt the butter into the pan. Once melted, pour in the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir it until it is combined. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes at a time and stir.
Once the roux is a medium brown color, begin adding in the milk; a cup at a time. Stir constantly as you pour the milk in, breaking up any bits.
Once all the milk has been added, let the gravy simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Check the consistency, if it slide slowly off a spoon, add in the sausage and red pepper flakes. If it’s too liquid, cook for about 5 more minutes
With the sausage and red pepper flakes added , let the gravy simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. To finish add salt and pepper to taste
Wash and cut sage leaves. To serve: place biscuits on a plate, pour on the gravy and top with the sage leaves.
About this Dish
This is a classic breakfast dish. It’s a staple in most diners and breakfast menus. However, there is always something ‘off’ about it, too salty, not enough sausage, bland biscuits, etc. With this recipe you are guaranteed flavor and consistency. However, I encourage making it your own! You can add in bacon, a poached egg, or even make a vegan gravy. The name of the game is a flavorful gravy and homemade buttermilk biscuits.
Buttermilk biscuits have another dimension of flavor over plain biscuits. The buttermilk lends some soft and fluffy filling and a subtle tart taste. Buttermilk has some sourness to it, similar to sour cream. Adding this into a flour with fresh butter makes the perfect biscuit. While the biscuits bake, you can spend your time making the gravy.
The base of all gravies is what is called a roux. A roux is fat cooked together with flour. To get the most flavor, you need to ensure the roux gets a nice medium brown color. Don’t worry, since milk is the liquid here, the gravy will stay a light brown/ off white color. Once the roux is established, slowly adding in milk builds this gravy. The red pepper gives it a nice kick and plays well with the mouthfeel of all the butter. I garnished this with sage to add an element of freshness to this. Sage is very aromatic and adds almost a sort of spice and bite to the dish.
