Sage Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy is a dish that can swing wildly from utterly delicious to painfully disappointing. Seemingly on every breakfast and brunch menu across the country, this comforting classic often feels like an afterthought. Lifeless, dry biscuits covered in sad runny gravy can often taste bland and pasty. Run away! Once mastered, this recipe will make you never want to order this southern breakfast staple in a restaurant again. Beautiful flakey biscuits, scrumptious with or without the gravy, are elevated here with fresh sage. The gravy is smooth, creamy, and bursting with flavor, yet not too heavy.

Ingredients:

For the biscuits:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup (half stick) butter, 1-inch cubed and chilled

¾ cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped

For the gravy:

1 pound ground pork sausage

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

3 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Chopped herbs for garnish, such as chives, parsley or thyme

Directions:

For biscuits: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, or your fingers, quickly cut the butter into the flour until mixture has a coarse crumbly texture. Add buttermilk and sage and stir until mixture just combines into a soft shaggy dough.

Turn dough onto floured work surface and gently knead 6 to 8 times, until dough is smooth. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough out ¼ inch thick.

Cut out 2-inch biscuits using a floured round biscuit cutter. Press trimmings together, reroll and cut out additional biscuits. Arrange biscuits on ungreased baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Keep warm while finishing gravy.

For gravy: Add sausage to a large skillet and set over medium heat. Brown sausage until no longer pink, breaking up as it cooks with a wooden spoon. Add butter and stir around as it melts. Sprinkle flour over the sausage and stir to fully incorporate. Cook for 2 minutes to cook the flour, stirring constantly and scrapping the bottom of pan as you go.

Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Keep whisking, scraping the bottom and sides, until gravy is smooth. Stir in the salt, thyme and black pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until gravy thickens to perfect consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt and black pepper if needed.

To serve, split biscuits in half, arrange on plate, and smother with gravy. Garnish top with chopped herbs and plenty of fresh ground black pepper. A pinch of paprika for color is also lovely on top.

Notes:

The key to this version of biscuits and gravy is the addition of fresh herbs. Play around with your favorites. Try sage, dill, tarragon, chives, marjoram or any combination. If you don't have access to fresh herbs, you can substitute dried herbs, using the general ratio of one teaspoon dried for one tablespoon fresh. Taste and adjust as you go, dried herbs are more concentrated.

Use any loose ground pork sausage you like, breakfast style or mild Italian work great. If you only have links, remove the sausage from the casings before you brown. Try substituting with your favorite turkey or chicken sausage. Leaner sausage might require a bit of oil in the pan while browning.

When making a white gravy, or any sauce that starts with a roux, it is very important to cook the flour in the butter or fat sufficiently before adding the liquid. Don't rush, give it a good 2 to 3 minutes. This will add depth and prevent your gravy from having a gummy raw flour flavor.

Serve this as part of a decadent brunch spread perfect for a crowd. A fried egg on top is never a bad idea. Also lovely when you are craving breakfast for dinner, as I was this week. Enjoy!