Buttery, soft buttermilk biscuits smothered in a simple but decadent country sausage gravy. With only 5 ingredients, this gravy is so easy but deeply soul-satisfying in a way that only Southern comfort food can be. Biscuits with Gravy is perfect for breakfast or brunch, but it's also a fun dinner surprise for your family.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Biscuits* 45 minutesminutes
Total Time 20 minutesminutes
Ingredients
Buttermilk Biscuits*
See the notes below for a link to my Buttermilk Biscuit recipe
Sausage Gravy
1lbground breakfast sausage
2Tbbacon fat or salted butter
3Tball purpose flour
3.5 to 4cupsof whole milk
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Once the biscuits are cooked, start your sausage gravy. You want to serve gravy piping hot so make sure your biscuits are ready for their gravy bath before starting the process.
Pour 4 C of whole milk into a medium saucepan and turn the heat on to medium. Stir the milk occasionally to ensure even heating. Make sure the milk doesn't reach a boil. If you start to see small bubbles around the edge of the pan, just turn the heat down to a lower setting. As the milk heats up, start your gravy.
Place a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the breakfast sausage. Using a wooden spoon or a ground meat chopper to break up the sausage into bite size pieces. A ground meat chopper is one of my favorite gadgets. You can find a link to purchase one above.
Cook the breakfast sausage for 5-7 minutes until the sausage starts to develop crispy, browned edges. Those browned bits are where all of the flavor lives! Once the sausage is browned, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave as much of the fat in the pan as possible.
You need a total of 3 Tb of fat to start your roux.** If you feel more comfortable measuring the fat, feel free to strain your cooked sausage, reserving the fat in a separate bowl so you can measure. I typically eyeball the amount to be honest. Add enough bacon fat or salted butter to the sausage fat to equal 3 Tb.
Turn the heat down to medium. Once the fat is totally melted, add the flour to the pan. Using your wooden spoon, stir the fat and flour together until well incorporated. Be sure to also scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the roux cooks. Cook the roux over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
Once the roux has cooked for 2 minutes, it's time to switch your utensil to a whisk and start slowly adding the hot milk. This is the most important step in gravy making. If you add too much liquid at once or if the milk isn't hot, you risk a lumpy gravy. If you add too little milk though, the roux will tighten up too quickly which, again, can make for a lumpy gravy. You want a slow, steady stream of hot milk poured evenly around the pan ask you whisk vigorously.
Start by adding 3 to 3.5 cups of milk to the gravy. Reserve at least ½ C for further additions as the gravy thickens. Bring the gravy to a low boil and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the gravy has reached a lovely thick consistency. If the gravy gets too thick, just add a bit more warm milk to thin the gravy back out.
Once the gravy has reached the right consistency, add the cooked sausage and stir into the gravy with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste, but don't skimp on the black pepper. Good gravy has plenty of black pepper flavor. Cook for another 1-2 minutes or until the sausage is warm. Serve immediately over hot biscuits.
Notes
*Here is a link to my Buttermilk Biscuit recipe. Don't be afraid. Making your own biscuits is easier then you think!**A roux is simply a mixture of fat and flour that is cooked down and used to thicken a sauce. It's a great technique to master for making all kinds of sauces.