Biscuits and Gravy; Authentic Southern Recipe

Biscuits and Gravy has to be one of the most beloved of southern comfort foods. Southern mamas have served it to their families for breakfast for generations. I guarantee you that hearty, savory sausage gravy ladled over fluffy homemade biscuits fills hungry bellies like nothing else. (You can find my favorite biscuit recipe here.) This recipe is a classic, is so easy to make, and only calls for 3 ingredients. Let me show you how easy it is to make.

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You can order biscuits and gravy in many restaurants, but please don’t assume that it tastes like homemade. It’s usually made from instant gravy mix and doesn’t come close to the original recipe. If you have bought packets of gravy mix in the store, you may reconsider once you see how easy and delicious it is to make from scratch.

I think everyone has a different preference for which kind of sausage to use in their gravy. I used to be a Jimmy Dean fan until we tried Tennessee Pride many years ago. Now it’s the only brand I will use. The only other ingredients needed are milk, flour, salt and pepper. It doesn’t get easier than this!

Favorite Tools to make Sausage Gravy

I prefer to make sausage gravy in a cast iron skillet. The skillet distributes the heat more evenly and not much sticks to it. I also prefer to start with about a tablespoon of bacon drippings. If you don’t save yours, you can fry up a few bacon slices first and leave the drippings in the skillet.

Besides the cast iron skillet, there are a few other kitchen tools I like to use when making sausage gravy. The first is this meat chopper. I bought this one on Amazon. I use it any time I’m browning sausage or ground beef. It makes is so easy to break up the meat to help it cook evenly. And it’s made of silicone, so not only can it withstand high heat, it won’t damage your pans.

Another favorite tool is this flat whisk below. This kitchen tool is a real game changer. It is perfect for deglazing a pan and keeping gravies from getting lumpy or burning. Food doesn’t get stuck in it like it can with a balloon whisk. And it’s a snap to clean. Mine is the Oxo Good Grips brand which I also bought on Amazon.

How To MakeSausage Gravy

To make sausage gravy, you simply fry up the sausage, leaving the sausage and drippings (fat) in the pan. You need the fat to make the gravy. Next, you add the flour right into the pan and stir it around, allowing the flour to cook a bit. Cooking it prevents that pasty, raw flour taste.

Rule of thumb: It will take practice, but make sure to add enough flour from the start since you’re basically making a roux. For roux-based gravies, you can always thin it out but you can’t thicken it without compromising flavor since it starts out with cooking the flour.

Then, once the flour is absorbed into the sausage, you add the milk and start stirring. I like to warm my milk a bit before adding it because it helps everything cook faster. I just measure the milk into a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup and place it into the microwave for about a minute. A flat whisk is best for this job.

When you first add the milk it will be very soupy. Stir it around and keep scraping the bottom to prevent scalding. Soon it will start to bubble and thicken. Let it come to a simmer for about a minute or two until it is your desired thickness. Then take it off the heat. Keep in mind that it will continue to thicken. If it gets too thick, you can simply add more milk. You can add salt and pepper to taste at this point, but I usually don’t. I find the sausage is seasoned enough and prefer to let people season theirs to taste on the plate.

And that’s it! You can serve it immediately over fresh-baked biscuits, or toast, or even hash browns. Leftovers reheat easily with a splash of milk to thin it out a bit.

Serve over my homemade Buttermilk Biscuits found here: Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

Southern Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Hearty, savory sausage gravy ladled over fluffy, homemade biscuits. This recipe is a classic, is so easy to make, and only calls for 3 ingredients.

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Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Southern

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 pound breakfast sausage (I prefer Tennessee Pride or Jimmy Dean)
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups whole milk

Instructions

 

• Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium to low heat. I like to add about a tablespoon of bacon drippings to the pan for best flavor, but its not necessary.
• Add the sausage to the skillet and cook until browned. Do not drain the drippings. They're needed to make the gravy.
• Add the flour to the pan and stir. Keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet to prevent sticking and burning. Let cook until the flour is absorbed and no longer visible.
• Pour in the milk. Stir, scraping the bottom of the skillet as you go. Bring to a simmer and then simmer for about a minute or two or until it's as thick as you like. If it gets too thick you can add a little milk to thin it out.
• Take off the heat and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over biscuits or toast. Leftovers can easily be reheated by adding a splash of milk.

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