Today we are going to learn about an important little thing that was an absolute thorn in my side for years. I am a self-respecting Southern woman. As such, my inability to make a decent gravy haunted me like an angry ghost until a couple years ago when something finally clicked. I'm going to save you all every bit of that pain right now.
One of the absolute cheapest meals you will EVER make is biscuits and gravy. Toss in your sausage, a fried egg, and maybe a little jam or apple butter, and you will have full and happy bellies all around the table no matter what time of day it is. It's a no-brainer, and so easy to stretch into larger quantities if you need to. Plus, the basis of gravy... the roux... is the starting point for loads of other sauces for lots of other dishes floating around out there. Basically, gravy is a gateway drug for cooking.
This is what you'll need: Milk, Heavy Cream, Mild breakfast sausage (I prefer Tennessee Pride), All-Purpose Flour, Salt, and Pepper.
Step 1: Heat a large, high walled skillet on the stove on medium heat. Don't be tempted to turn it up to speed things along. That will only end in tears. Good sausage and gravy is all about patience. While the pan is heating, open up your sausage and start forming it into 1/2" patties.
Step 2: When the pan is hot enough to give off a little sizzle when you touch the meat to it, go ahead and place your sausage in the pan. Don't overcrowd, though. You'll probably need a couple batches to get it all cooked.
(And remember what I said about patience? Even Mama has a hard time with it sometimes. You can tell in the last picture that I tried to turn my sausage a bit too early. All the brown bits got left behind on all but one patty. Durn it. That's ok, though... brown bits make for a flavor-full gravy!)
Step 3: Add your flour, salt, and pepper. I usually only add around 1/2 cup of the flour, but trust me when I say you need to season this gravy well right now. Seriously. Your best chance of good gravy starts here. Add more salt and more pepper than you think you'd need, then check it again when it's finished. You'll probably need to add more. Flour and milk are bland, ya'll, even with the fat from the sausage helping out. Give it a little assistance!
Well, here we see a very common problem. See how dry and pitiful that flour looks? That, my dear hearts, is NOT a roux... it's a durn hot mess. No worries! We just need a bit more fat! If you don't have any more sausage grease just laying around, toss in a couple tablespoons of butter.
Now, isn't that better? That last picture below is right about the perfect consistency for good roux. Thinner would be fine, too... but not much thinner.
Whisk up all your yummy brown bits and beat the lumps into submission.
Step 4: Keep whisking the roux until it reaches a nice, soft brown, then add your milk in 1/2 to 1 cup increments. Bring it back to a boil each time (your stove eye should still be set to a medium heat) while constantly whisking. You can add more milk each time it thickens a bit until you've reached the amount of gravy that you want.
Step 5: Finally, drizzle in about a 1/2 cup heavy cream. Whisk it until the thickness of the gravy will coat a spoon, remove it from the heat, and give it a taste. Does it need salt and/or pepper? I bet it does! Go ahead and add that in. and taste again. At this point, it is better to go easy and have to taste it a few times than to dump a bunch in and be sorry about it later.
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