Biscuits and Gravy

I’ll admit, this is a Cheat Day breakfast, but, boy, if you’re going to go for it, this is the dish you want. I do have bad news; the B&G you know and love is, wrong.

B&G typically is a sawmill (milk based) sausage gravy over southern style biscuits. The gravy I have no quarrel with, but rather those fluffy, southern biscuits. A true southern style biscuit is flaky, tender, and soft… which means after 5 minutes, they turn into a pasty mush. Those biscuits are too delicate for heavy milk based gravy. What is needed is a biscuit that is still buttery, but has enough texture and density to hold up to all that wonderful gravy; drop biscuits.

Drop Biscuits:

This recipe is straight from the original version of the Joy of Cooking, and it needs no modernization.

Shop it:

  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons cold butter
  • 1 cup milk

Make it:

  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and mix well.
  • Cut butter into pieces and add to flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter, a fork or your hands cut the butter into the flour to form a coarse meal.
  • Add milk and stir until dough forms.
  • Drop from a spoon (or your hands) onto an ungreased baking sheet (you’ll get about 8).
  • Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Sawmill Gravy

Shop it:

  • 1 lb, pork sausage*
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons AP flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
  • 1 pinch red pepper flake

Make it:

  • Heat dutch oven or large saucepan over medium high heat; add butter to melt. Cook sausage, 7-8 minutes or until brown.
  • Dust on flour, stir to combine. Cook out flour for 1-2 minutes.
  • Whisk in milk, being sure to scrape pan for any sausage bits.
  • Bring to simmer; add in Worcestershire Sauce, sage, and red pepper, along with a heavy grind of black pepper and pinch of salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, serve immediately.**

*90% of the flavor from this gravy comes from the sausage; buy the good stuff here.
**I like my gravy thick, so I’ll likely add in a tablespoon of cornstarch loosened with some milk.

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