Sausage Biscuits and Gravy

Sausage biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs.

The first time I ever had sausage biscuits and gravy was when I was 3 months pregnant with my first child. I actually hurt myself on the meal. I was on an excellent adventure with my mom, dad, Nana, and sister to see my brother graduate from navy basic training at Great Lakes. IL. I say excellent adventure because my dad thought it would be fun to rent a motor home for this journey. Hmm, a three-month first-time preggo and a 75-year-old Nana, 3 other adults, in a 200 SF camper for 900 miles. what could go wrong.....

For the most part, until I gorged on the sausage biscuits and gravy, it was all fine. We made our way out there, saw Jay's graduation and delivered the 100 frozen White Castle burgers we was craving and started for home the next morning. We stopped somewhere for breakfast on the way, and honestly I can't tell you if it was a truck stop, a diner, or some other iconic breakfast place due to the food coma that followed.

When I saw 'sausage biscuits and gravy' on the menu I was quite confused because in my world, sausage and gravy were served with pasta and Italian bread. Dad described the dish and assured me that I should try it and would love it. And... he was absolutely right -- except that eating for 2 with little will power had me clean my plate. Within i an hour all that yumminess settled into my stomach and and let me know exactly what 'stick to your ribs' means. I found my way to one of the more comfortable banquette seats in the back of the camper and pretty much slept the entire way home and I don't think I ate another thing until the next morning.

All that said, it was love at first bite and once I fully recovered I started developing my own recipe. I slowly saute the sausage to brown it and use the drippings to make a roux as the base for the creamy gravy. I also add minced

sausage mushroom and onion ready to saute

cooking the sausage slow helps to reserve the fats for the roux.

add flour and stir to thicken

mushrooms and sweet onions to the sausage meat.

After the meat is browned, I sprinkle in the flour and stir and mix until the mixture thickens and takes on a golden color. At that point I add some white wine while stirring constantly. The wine further thickens the mix and adds another dimension to the flavor. After the wine, I add heavy cream or milk and stir until it thickens back up.

Add white wine amd stir

Add cream or molk

Simmer sausage gravy until it thickens.

It's great served immediately with eggs and biscuits, but can be stored and 'reconstituted 'with some more milk in a sauce pan when you want to serve it.

THE RECIPE:

1 lb breakfast sausage meat

1 C minced mushrooms

1/2 C minced sweet onion

1/2 C flour

1/4 C dry white wine

Salt / Pepper to taste

1-2 C heavy cream of whole milk

Sausage biscuits and gravy with a sunny side up egg is my personal favorite.

Over low heat, cook the sausage, mushrooms and onions in a covered skillet.

When meat is browned, sprinkle the flour around and stir constantly to combine and brown into a roux.

Stir in the white wine to further thicken the mix (keep it moving so it doesn't stick)

Add the cream or milk

Season with salt and pepper (depending on how the sausage is seasoned, will determine how you season here)