I wasn't raised on sausage gravy. My family was more likely to have a big pan of hamburger gravy on toast or over a mountain of mashed potatoes for a fall supper. But it was never something we would eat at breakfast.
Over the years I've learned to enjoy the occasional biscuit slathered in creamy, spicy sausage gravy. It's also pretty darn nice spooned over a pile of scrambled eggs....not traditional, to be sure!
For anyone not familiar with southern sausage gravy over biscuits, it is normally a small amount of breakfast sausage browned in a skillet, usually highly seasoned with black pepper, a bit of flour added and turned into a sort of roux with the rendered sausage fat and then milk is added and stirred until it comes to a boil and thickens. The spicy gravy can have a lot or a little sausage in it and was, I suspect, first made to stretch a small amount of meat to feed a bunch of hungry children.
Since I wasn't raised on the dish I figure I have license to make it any way I want....lol I like to use a spicy variety tube pork breakfast sausage, either Tennessee brand or Jimmy Dean brand. I like to make it after I've already cooked sausage patties or even some peppered bacon in a nice cast iron skillet, although this morning I used a Silverstone nonstick skillet and it had definite advantages.
I'm the only one in this house who likes the dish so when I make it I plan to divey it up into little zip bags and store it in the freezer for a breakfast just for ME!
I browned a small amount of the sausage, breaking it down to small bits. I added a couple tablespoons of finely chopped onion and just a pinch of salt but a few good grinds of course grind black pepper. When the sausage was cooked and browned bits were in the pan I added a heaping tablespoon of flour and allowed it to cook in the rendered fat. Then I stirred in some milk and stirred and cooked until it was nicely thickened. The I added a little more milk and let it simmer and reduce down to meld all the flavors. I tasted it and decided to change it a bit this time. I went out to the garden and got a couple stems of thyme, one of my favorite herbs to cook with. I stripped the leaves off the stems, chopped them a bit and added just a little to my simmering sausage gravy. For me, the thyme was a nice addition...not for everyone and certainly not traditional, but to MY liking.
When my gravy is cooled in the pan I'll divide it into little snack size zip bags and freeze them flat for freezer storage until I get a taste for a rich and hearty breakfast.
Over the years I've learned to enjoy the occasional biscuit slathered in creamy, spicy sausage gravy. It's also pretty darn nice spooned over a pile of scrambled eggs....not traditional, to be sure!
For anyone not familiar with southern sausage gravy over biscuits, it is normally a small amount of breakfast sausage browned in a skillet, usually highly seasoned with black pepper, a bit of flour added and turned into a sort of roux with the rendered sausage fat and then milk is added and stirred until it comes to a boil and thickens. The spicy gravy can have a lot or a little sausage in it and was, I suspect, first made to stretch a small amount of meat to feed a bunch of hungry children.
Since I wasn't raised on the dish I figure I have license to make it any way I want....lol I like to use a spicy variety tube pork breakfast sausage, either Tennessee brand or Jimmy Dean brand. I like to make it after I've already cooked sausage patties or even some peppered bacon in a nice cast iron skillet, although this morning I used a Silverstone nonstick skillet and it had definite advantages.
I'm the only one in this house who likes the dish so when I make it I plan to divey it up into little zip bags and store it in the freezer for a breakfast just for ME!
I browned a small amount of the sausage, breaking it down to small bits. I added a couple tablespoons of finely chopped onion and just a pinch of salt but a few good grinds of course grind black pepper. When the sausage was cooked and browned bits were in the pan I added a heaping tablespoon of flour and allowed it to cook in the rendered fat. Then I stirred in some milk and stirred and cooked until it was nicely thickened. The I added a little more milk and let it simmer and reduce down to meld all the flavors. I tasted it and decided to change it a bit this time. I went out to the garden and got a couple stems of thyme, one of my favorite herbs to cook with. I stripped the leaves off the stems, chopped them a bit and added just a little to my simmering sausage gravy. For me, the thyme was a nice addition...not for everyone and certainly not traditional, but to MY liking.
When my gravy is cooled in the pan I'll divide it into little snack size zip bags and freeze them flat for freezer storage until I get a taste for a rich and hearty breakfast.