andrejthechef
USABreadBreakfast

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Tall, flaky buttermilk biscuits smothered in peppery pork sausage gravy. Cold butter, a few folds and a hot oven for the biscuits; a simple roux in the sausage fat for the gravy.

prep
25 min
cook
30 min
total
55 min
serves
4
level
medium
Two split golden buttermilk biscuits covered in creamy sausage gravy with crumbled sausage and black pepper on a white diner plate

Biscuits and gravy is a staple of the American South and a fixture on diner menus across the country. Flaky buttermilk biscuits are split and covered with a white gravy made from crumbled breakfast sausage, flour and milk, and seasoned hard with black pepper. It is cheap, filling food from a kitchen that stretched a pound of sausage to feed a table.

Both halves depend on small details. For the biscuits, the butter has to stay cold and the dough has to be handled as little as possible, with a few folds to build flaky layers. For the gravy, the flour is cooked briefly in the sausage fat before the milk goes in slowly, which keeps it smooth and keeps it from tasting raw.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy is one of the best breakfasts from around the world.

method

  1. Heat the oven to 230°C (450°F) with a rack in the middle. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater (or cut cold butter into small cubes) and toss it through the flour with your fingertips until it looks like coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces.

  2. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with a fork until the dough just holds together and no dry flour remains. It will look shaggy and a little sticky.

  3. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and pat it into a rectangle about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick. Fold it in thirds like a letter, turn it, and pat it out again. Repeat the fold three times in total, then pat to a thickness of 2.5 cm (1 inch).

  4. Cut straight down with a floured 7 cm (2 3/4 inch) cutter, without twisting, which would seal the edges and stop the rise. Pack the biscuits snugly together on a baking sheet or in a cast iron skillet, brush the tops with melted butter and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until tall and deep golden.

  5. While the biscuits bake, brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. You need about 3 tablespoons of fat in the pan; add a little butter if the sausage was lean.

  6. Sprinkle the 30 g of flour over the sausage and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the flour coats everything and turns light tan with no raw smell.

  7. Pour in the milk in a slow stream, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Bring to a gentle bubble, then simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the black pepper, then taste and add salt, since the sausage is already salty.

  8. Split the hot biscuits with a fork, set them on warm plates and ladle the gravy over the top. If the gravy has thickened while standing, loosen it with a splash of milk.

chef's tips

  • Keep everything cold. If the dough gets warm and greasy while you work, slide the cut biscuits into the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.
  • The gravy thickens as it stands, so make it a little looser than you want it on the plate. Leftover gravy reheats well with a splash of milk.
  • Use fresh baking powder. Biscuits that come out squat and dense are usually the fault of old baking powder or a twisted cutter.