I never enjoyed biscuits and gravy until my husband asked me to make them at home. I discovered that, with the right biscuits, I really like this classic family dish. I like it so much, I'm writing this down so people can steal the recipe at will (including my Mom, who asked for it).
I have been slightly snarky in my assessment of serving size, but there's a simple reason behind it. If my husband and I have this for breakfast, salad and lean meat is for dinner and there is no lunch - just fruit/nuts in the afternoon as a snack. It's about being smart when you have "comfort food," just like everything else. That lean chicken breast isn't a great choice for you if you're eating 18 of them in one sitting.
Buttermilk Biscuits (with buttermilk cheat)
makes 6 large biscuits
2 cups flour + some for board
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (best cold or frozen)
1/2 tsp baking SODA
1 tbsp baking POWDER
1 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 tsp of lemon juice added)
1. Preheat oven to 450F. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Grate butter with a cheese grater (see notes). Mix with fork until butter is well incorporated.
3. Stir milk into dry ingredients with fork quickly.
4. Pat ingredients together (DO NOT OVERMIX).
5. Turn out onto board. Use glass to cut (see notes).
6. Place cut biscuits on parchment paper-covered baking sheet.
7. Bake at 405F for 12 minutes.
Sausage Gravy (adapted from Bob Evans)
serves 8 if you skimp on serving size (I usually get 6 servings out of this)
2 lbs sausage (see Notes)
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
1. Brown sausage over medium heat. Drain excess fat (I use Jimmy Dean sausage; less than 2 tbsp. resulting grease, which is key for flavor in the gravy, so I don't drain it).
2. Stir in flour. Continue to stir until the flour coats all the sausage. This is the easiest way to avoid lumpy gravy, but you have to MAKE SURE the flour is incorporated completely.
3. Stir in milk slowly. Allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes for Biscuits: A cheese grater? I know. But it works, and you don't have to spend forever cutting the butter down to size with a pastry cutter. I'm all about versatility! About cutting these guys... mine get pretty puffy in the oven, so I try to use large glasses to give them a large enough base - I use my husband's pint glasses. Nice wide circle!
Notes for Gravy: If you use regular, unspiced sausage, you can fake it. I've had success with this recipe with ground beef as well. I use sage, coriander, cumin, garlic and onion powder to get the taste of breakfast sausage, and red pepper flakes for the heat we prefer. If you'd rather buy it, Jimmy Dean HOT breakfast sausage is my go-to.
