Since the weather is turning cooler here in Connecticut, I like to keep a little piece of home with me by cooking up some Biscuits and Gravy with sausage crumbles. My Grandma on my mother's side used to make it all the time. On cold mornings it really hits the spot so long as you have the time to make it.
From beginning to end I would say the process takes about 45 minutes.
Kitchen utensils:
- Skillet (10 Inches)
- Wooden Spoon
- Baking Pan
-Measuring Cup
-Mixing Bowl
- Flour Sifter
Oven Temp:350
The easiest way to go about this is by making the biscuits first. They can bake in the oven while the sausage and gravy are being made.
Biscuit Recipe
Usually, I never measure, I know it's bad, its a Southern habit but for you guys I did.
1 cup flour (Self-rising)
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp bacon grease**
1 tsp salt- for taste
I start by sifting my flour, just make sure there are no clumps. Once the flour is sifted, I add the bacon grease to it. This is a vital ingredient. Otherwise, your biscuits will taste very bland. There will be a note at the end of the recipe on how to render the bacon grease. Add the water and salt and mix the ingredients until they are incorporated, the dough will be wet. You didn't do anything wrong; it's supposed to be that way.
After the dough is made I like to use a large silverware spoon to scoop (like you would cookie dough) them out and put them on the baking sheet, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or buttered, whichever you prefer. This recipe should yield about 8 biscuits. If you want more or less, you can edit the recipe accordingly.
Bake biscuits at 350 temp for 20-25 minutes. Or until the tops are nice and golden. Once I pull them from the oven, I like to use a stick of butter and rub it on top, so it seeps into the cracks and crevices.
Sausage
This is probably the easiest part of the recipe.
-1 roll of Jimmy Dean sausage or a sausage of your choice
****Very important side note! It's best not to get the maple flavored kind. Otherwise, you will have maple flavored gravy, and that's not good.
This is where the skillet comes in. In the skillet break apart the sausage roll into the skillet. Cook until sausage is brown, probably 10 minutes. If some gets stuck to the pan that's ok. it will be used for the gravy. Once the sausage is browned remove from the skillet and set aside.
Gravy Recipe
This is my favorite part of the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups of water
-1/2 cup of milk
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp flour
After the sausage is removed from the pan, there should be some grease left behind. DO NOT THROW IT OUT! Reduce the heat on the skillet to medium and add the flour. If the flour doesn't become like a thin paste in the bottom of the pan, you don't have enough grease. You can substitute vegetable oil, maybe a teaspoon just enough to loosen the flour.
Let the flour cook until it's a light brown, don't forget to stir it! You want to get all the sausage drippings off the bottom of the skillet. Add salt and pepper. Add water and milk, stir immediately! Otherwise, the gravy will be lumpy. I usually turn the burner off and let it cook from the heat. I like thin gravy, so I only let it cook a few minutes.
Once finished add the sausage back to the gravy and stir it in.
Cut open a biscuit and lay the halves out like a hamburger bun, smoother in gravy and ENJOY!
*** SIDE NOTE- To render bacon grease, save the leftover grease from cooking bacon. It will turn into almost a soft butter consistency after it cools down.
