Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Flaky buttermilk biscuits split open and smothered in peppery pork sausage gravy. Cold butter and a gentle hand are the whole secret.

Prep

20 min

Cook

25 min

Total

45 min

Yield

6 servings

8 to 10 biscuits

Ingredients

For the biscuits:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp granulated sugar
½ cup cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cubed
1 cup cold buttermilk
For the gravy:
1 lb bulk breakfast pork sausage
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
¾ tsp coarse black pepper
Salt, to taste

Method

Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the pieces are the size of peas.
Stir in the buttermilk just until a shaggy dough forms. Turn it onto a floured counter, pat into a rectangle and fold it over on itself 3 or 4 times to build layers.
Pat the dough 1 inch thick and cut 2½-inch rounds, pressing straight down without twisting. Set them on the sheet with sides touching.
Bake until tall and golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up, 8 to 10 minutes. Do not drain the fat.
Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk while stirring and simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, 5 to 8 minutes.
Season with the pepper and salt. Split the warm biscuits and ladle the gravy over them.

Kitchen note

Keep the butter and buttermilk in the fridge until the moment you use them. Cold fat makes the steam that creates flaky layers.

Where it comes from

Sawmill gravy fed Appalachian and Southern workers through the 1800s. It is still the anchor of a Southern breakfast table.