While I’ve shared a basic Southern gravy recipe here before, if you’re thinking of making biscuits and gravy it can’t be done with restaurant style gravy. It must be made with sausage gravy. Sausage gravy is a Southern staple. It can be found in nearly every restaurant and diner in the South and the Southwest and is undoubtedly made in nearly every home in the area as well.
Nothing quite compares with biscuits and gravy. It’s not a fancy meal. It shouldn’t be made into a fancy meal. It’s peasant food at its best. Pure, simple and filling. It is food born from a need to feed a family with only what was on hand and feed them well.
This is my mother’s recipe. I have not adapted it, modified it or otherwise mucked with it. On the contrary, I’ve invested over 20 years of my life trying to perfect my mother’s technique. At first I tried to make it my own. These attempts resulted in some pretty good gravies, but they just weren’t “right.” It’s taken a long time, but I think that if my mother was still with us, this gravy would make her proud.
The real secret behind sausage gravy is in both the sausage and in the way it is cooked. The sausage used in this dish should be of the bulk store variety and preferably be very fatty. Also, low, gentle heat should be used to cook the sausage. This low cooking temperature allows the fat in the sausage to completely render out of the meat. The resulting grease is the heart and soul of a great gravy. It ads the base flavor, body and character of everything that comes later.
Another key to success is in cooking the sausage properly. The aim here isn’t to just barely get your sausage cooked through, but to take it just a tiny bit past that point. At the end the sausage should be slightly dry. It should then be strained for at least five minutes through a fine mesh sieve or colander and the drippings should be reserved.
From this point making sausage gravy is an identical process to any other flour-based pan gravy. Return the oil to the pan, add flour and brown, season, add milk and stir, stir, stir! I use all-purpose flour in my gravies, but there are those who swear by Wondra
Of course a gravy of this caliber needs something to be lavished upon. The go-to (and highly preferred) vehicle for gravy delivery is the plain ol’ buttermilk biscuit. The light, flaky, multilayered biscuits of the North are not appreciated here. The gravy just makes them soggy and they don’t have the right texture. You gotta have a biscuit with some heft to it.
And there, my friends, you have it. The ultimate experience in breakfast, brunch or late night munching fare. The culinary pinnacle of flour, milk and flavor. A humble food that deserves a place in every kitchen. My mother’s sausage gravy. Give this a try the next time you’re craving a little love. Trust me, there’s a lot of love in this recipe.
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