Biscuits and gravy

[Phoenix]

Does any one have a good Home style Biscuits and gravy recipe. I make my own sausge, all I really need is the gravy recipe.

The sausage recipe I use is

5 tsp salt
4 tsp ground sage
2 tsp ground pepper
1\2 tsp cloves or 1 tsp ground nutmeg. (I don't use cloves)
1 tsp sugar
4 lbs trimmings (I use beef)


Thanks
Robert

[bluezebra]

I can tell you how I do our sausage gravy. But you might scream cuz it mutilates the sausage

Crumble 2lbs of bulk sausage into a skillet and slowly brown it till it is crispy over about 60% of the sausage. That means, it's browned and crusty looking.

Remove sausage from the pan and pour off all but about 1/4 cup of the grease rendered out of the sausage. Add a finely chopped clove of garlic and saute. Add 1/4 cup of AP flour. Stir over med-high heat to make a roux. Stir the roux for about 5 minutes. You do not want this to brown, you want it to cook the flour.

Add milk a little at a time and stir until the gravy is thickened. When thick, add a little more milk. Keep adding milk until it's the consistency you desire for a gravy. (I add cold milk to the hot roux). When adding it a little at a time, it's not so important for it to be warmed. The milk tends to thicken quickly this way.

Taste to adjust salt and pepper - add any that's necessary. Add a hit of cayenne if you want it hotter. Serve hot over biscuits.

I can't give you my family biscuit recipe but there are a number of great ones out there. Remember the secret to a great biscuit is to work with cold fats and to cut in the fat with the dry ingredients until it resembles little peas. You want all of the dry ingredients incorporated with the fat. Work with ice cold milk or water per your recipe and once you add the liquid work it in very gently but quickly using the back of the tines of a fork. Do NOT overwork, over combine or overknead. I literally, barely moisten all the flour and then scoop the shaggy dough out of the bowl with a scraper onto a lightly floured counter. Then I gently press the dough together and give it one knead only. Shape into a disc about 2" thick and wrap in plastic. At this point it will still look like all the flour is not mixed in fully. Let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour without messing with it. After the rest time it will now look like a dough. (This may take making and adjusting your recipe a few times. If the dough is too dry, then it won't look like a dough at this point. If it's too wet it will be gummy. I've made our recipe soooo many times I can tell from the feel of the shaggy dough what it will look like after resting so the time to add the liquid is before the rest. You can firm up a gummy dough with a little extra flour on the board).

Lightly flatten the disc (remove plastic wrap) with your hands until the biscuits are about 1/2" thick. Use a cutter press straight down through the dough to cut. Twist only once and only after the cutter hits the table or board. Place biscuits on a foil or parchment lined sheet pan (unbuttered) and place them touching each other! Shoulder to shoulder. That way when they rice, the edges will cook together and will be soft once you separate them! That's important for a moist and tender biscuit. The only crustiness you want to see is on the top of the biscuit only!

And that's it. Enjoy!!

[Phoenix]

Cool thanks a lot. This sounds really good. I can't wait to try it..

Rob

[bluezebra]

phoenix, I hope you like it! Hey btw, in general 1tbsp of flour and 1tbsp of fat will thicken 1 cup of milk. So for 1/4 c:1/4c of fat to flour you are gonna use or add anywhere between 3-4cups of milk, depending on how thick you want your gravy. I forgot to finish that after it's thickened, you add back your sausage and let it simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes. Then you serve it over the bisquits and we make fried eggs and grits to go with it! And don't forget those peach preserves and lotsa butter to serve with the extra biscuit! mmmmmm mmmmm! And you can always add some more milk if it thickens up too much while simmering with the sausage.

[Pete]

Here's how I make my Sausage Gravy. It gets rave reviews whenever I serve it up:

Cook 1 1/2 pounds of Sausage until browned and cooked through. Sprinkle in enough flour to absorb all the grease and make a thick roux (approx. 1/4-1/3 cup of flour). Cook the flour until just starting to brown a little. Add 1 1/2 quarts of whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream and bring to a low boil. Add 2 sprigs of fresh sage and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Thin with more milk, depending on how thick you like your gravy and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes on a low simmer. Finish with a splash of tabasco and a shot of coffee (yes, coffee, it really helps to liven up the flavors, but only a shot, 1 1/2 oz) and remove sage sprigs.

[Blade55440]

I guess I'm just getting too southern in my B&G making ways. I don't measure anything. I just put the gravy together after making the sausage. Just eyeball everything.

*shrug* Must've got it from my mother.

[bluezebra]

Blade I do too. Meaning I really have to think about what quantities look like. Any recipe I give you is suspect because I am reconstructing quantities. I know what equal quantities of a flour fat (roux) mixture look like in a pan. From there you add milk till you are happy with the thickness of the gravy .

[KYHeirloomer]

Thanks to sites like this one, I've gotten in the habit of measuring ingredients.

First I pour out what looks right. Then I measure it, rounding off to the nearest reasonable figure (i.e., quarter cup, tbls, etc.). Then I write it down.

And then, more times than not, I loose the d-mn note card and have to make it by guess and by gosh anyway.

Seriously, there are some things it would never occur to me to even look for a recipe. Sausage gravy being one of them. I merely cook the sausage, then add flour, using the Mark V eyeball detector. Cook the flour down a bit, then slowly add milk until the gravy is the consistency I want. Depending on the choice of sausage, additional seasoning may or may not be needed.

[bluezebra]

bwahahahaha!!! You know, since coming to sites like these, I'm at least noticing numbers of things. I haven't yet started doing the method you're describing but at least I'm taking note of how many of something gets added or remembering the oz size of the cans instead..."use the whopper sized can of blah de blah!" or the "munchkin size can of such and such"

Maybe there's hope yet, eh?!

[DC Sunshine]

Could someone please enlighten me as to what is meant by a biscuit in this thread? To me, a biscuit is something firm and sweet you dunk in your tea or coffee. I can't imagine sloshing sausage gravy on an Anzac (Stop laughing. I'm embarassed). Am I getting there in thinking its like a savoury scone type thingy?

Pwease help

P.S. KYH - cups...tbsps...?? what are they anyway I prefer smidgins and skerricks and dashes

[KYHeirloomer]

I reckon we're off and running on another two-people-separated-by-a-common-language thread.

A biscuit in England, and presumably Down Under, is what we call a cookie. That is, a sweet sort of cracker, which can be either hard and crumbly, or soft & chewey.

A biscuit in the U.S. is a risen ummmm, eh, bun (?). Savory, as you guessed. Types of biscuits vary by the leavening agent, flavoring ingredients if any, and the forming process.

In the Southern U.S., beaten biscuits are the traditional favorite. In other parts of the country, drop biscuits are preferred.

Biscuits are usually (but not always) considered a breakfast food, but the leaftovers are used cold to make sandwiches.

Here is a typical beaten biscuit recipe:

4 cups flour
3/4 cups jmilk
1 lb lard or other fat
1 tsp salt

Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the lard until mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the milk and mix to form a stiff dough. Beat with a rolling pin until the dough blisters.

Using a biscuit cutter (traditionally, in the South at least, an empty baking powder can was used for this) cut the dough into rounds. Bake at 450F until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

Here's one for Cheese Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup buttermilk

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; cut in shortening. Add cheese and gradually stir in buttermilk. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and roll thin. Cut into small biscuits and place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 400F for 8-10 minutes.

And, finally, here's one for Corn Meal Biscuits

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Stir in cornmeal; cut in the shortenting until mix crumbles. Add milk all at once; stir to moisten. Knead lightly on floured surface 20 times. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with 2-inch cutter. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450F for 12-15 minutes.

[DC Sunshine]

Scones then Thanks KYH - I reckon those cheese ones sound worth a go.

Biscuits here = things like Oreos (only US cookie I know of )

Amazing sometimes how it the same language hey....but then, variety is the spice of life

[KYHeirloomer]

"...but then, variety is the spice of life."

Actually, capsicum is the spice of life. But I digress.

[Harpua]

I make a killer vegan gravy for my not vegan family every christmas.. it's gold!! Eh, you guys probably don't believe me

[allexgirl]

This is how I make mine.I just came up with this a few weeks ago.
Brown your pork sausage,add flour to make a roux.Add milk.Sorry I do not have amounts.
Seasonings:
granulated garlic
onion powder or salt
black pepper
paprika
can add some white pepper
old bay seasoning,just a little
I use to add tabasco
gumbo file powder,small amount
seasoned salt,opt.
salt t/t
Hope it turns out for you.
It's pretty good.It's a good special to run.I offer it over toast points or biscuits.With or without eggs of choice served over the top.

Donna