# Down-Home Sausage Gravy



## Raine (Mar 18, 2005)

Down-Home Sausage Gravy

Yield: 10 servings
1 pkg (16 ounces) fresh breakfast sausage  
2 tbsp finely chopped onion 
6 tbsp all-purpose flour 
2 cans (12 fluid ounces each) Evaporated Milk 
1 cup water 
1/4 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce 
10  hot biscuits, split 
Procedures
1 COMBINE sausage and onion in large skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink. Stir in flour; mix well. Stir in evaporated milk, water, salt and hot pepper sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. 
2 SERVE immediately over hot biscuits.


----------



## crewsk (Mar 18, 2005)

This looks very similar to how I make mine with the exception of the onion & hot sauce. I'll have to try that next time. Thanks for posting this Rainee!


----------



## lindatooo (Mar 18, 2005)

*wiping drool off the keyboard*  Sounds wonderful!


----------



## DampCharcoal (Mar 18, 2005)

Except for the hot sauce, that recipe is identical to the one I make, Rainee. I'll definitely try the hot sauce tho! Oh man, Jimmy Dean Sage sausage was on sale the other day so I got a few rolls! I know what I'm making soon! Mmmm!


----------



## bknox (Jul 7, 2005)

I was taught as a child a simple recipe for making sausage gravy. Realize, I was taught this recipe by an 80 or so year old woman (Mrs. Muncey, now passed on), 30 years ago in Virginia. She did not measure anything when she cooked.

• 1 pound of country sausage. NOT maple flavored or low fat. Regular Jimmy Dean country sausage.
• Flour - approx.: 1/4 cup
• Milk - approx.: almost a 1/2 gallon maybe more.
• Red pepper flakes -  a pinch. You can always add more if you like it hotter.
• Salt and Black Pepper - approx. teaspoon each. Personally I like black pepper in my sausage gravy 

Cook the sausage in a large cast iron skillet until crumbly and brown.
Without draining any grease begin adding flour until it covers the sausage and looks like the pan and sausage is getting dry and powdery. Do not over due it. You will probably need a little less than 1/4 of a cup of flour. 

Stir and brown for a couple of minutes to allow flour to brown a little and add in the pepper flakes.

With the milk in one hand and a spoon in the other begin slowly pouring milk into the pan and stirring constantly. The milk will immediately begin to thicken. Keep adding milk until it is the consistency of sausage gravy. Stir in salt and pepper before serving.

Serve over biscuits or toast with an angiogram. It is comfort food, and is probably not a good idea to eat on a regular basis although I would if I could.

I judge all other sausage gravy by this recipe and think it may be the most authentic sausage gravy recipe I have. If anyone is interested I could probably write down the biscuit recipe as well. They are hard little drop biscuits and I only make them when I make the gravy.

Enjoy
Bryan


----------



## Michael in FtW (Jul 7, 2005)

Bryan's recipe is pretty much the way I remember my grandmothers doing it (one from Mississippi and the other from Georgia) - the only time they used evaporated milk was for pies and banana pudding.

One grandmother browned the flour (brown cream gravy) - the other just combined it so the flour was coated with fat and only cooked for a few seconds without coloring it before she started adding the milk (white cream gravy). Amounts? Heck - these women cooked by instinct ... but "a couple of tablespoons" the way they measured might have been 1/4 - 1/3 cup.


----------



## Constance (Jul 7, 2005)

I start off like you do, Bryan, but make mine, and all gravies, like my grandma taught me. I take the pan off the heat and add enough flour to make a thick paste. Then I start stirring in the milk (I use skim). I use the old white sauce rule of 1 tbl fat, 1 tbl flour, 1 cup milk, though I no longer measure, as I have learned what it should look like. It will start out thin, but thicken up nicely, and the additional cooking time makes it taste better.  Put back on medium heat, and cook, stirring, until desired thickness is achieved. I season it to taste with a pinch of sugar and S&P to taste. That pinch of sugar makes all gravies just a little bit better. This method makes for less greasy gravy.

As for the red pepper flakes...the sausage we use already has enough for us, but I'm sure it would be good if your palate requires a spicier taste. I actually prefer black or white pepper for this gravy. 

When I was younger, I would never have thought that I'd serve my family a canned biscuit, but time and age change all things, and the Pillsbury Grands are pretty darned good, as are the Bisquick drop biscuits, especially if you drop that dough into sprayed muffin tins. Then they go up, instead of out.


----------



## Piccolina (Aug 2, 2005)

Thanks Raine I have been looking for a good sausage gravy for ages!


----------



## Mr_Dove (Aug 2, 2005)

The only things that I see missing (to some extent) is black pepper.  All the sausage gravies I've ever had contained LARGE amounts of black pepper.  Alot more than I consider "to taste".


----------



## Constance (Aug 3, 2005)

Mr. Dove, my husband peppers his after he gets it on the plate...and he uses a LOT of pepper!


----------



## thumpershere2 (Aug 3, 2005)

Sausage gravy or hamburger gravy is real good on mashed potatos also. I make both foe my deer hunters and that really fills them up. I make the gravy using the white sauce also. Thanks for the   hot sauce  idea Rain.


----------



## smokinhoney (Aug 3, 2005)

*mamas biscuits and gravy*

lb of spicy bob evans sausage
1 can of campbells cream of mushroom
1 vidalia onion chopped 
cornstarch and 1/2 and 1/2
milk
butter 
salt and pepper 
grands large biscuits
they say i should sell this stuff they all love it

anyways u brown sausage and onion add 1/2 stick of butter let melt add mixture of milk and cornstarch in large 20 oz cup then slowly pour into pan ... it will start to thicken add can of mushroom soup and keep stirring.. remember cornstarch is 1/2 of what u would use for flour so about 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to the milk.. add half and half if it still needs more liquid . this is heart attack on a plate and meant for occasional use lol... we like breakfast for dinner alot and it also freezes well can be warmed up in microwave with left over biscuits good as day one.
good luck


----------



## Piccolina (Aug 4, 2005)

I think a bold gravy like that is just begging for a sprinkling of chilli pepper flakes or a dash of something tangy or hot!


----------



## Brooksy (Oct 6, 2005)

Pop.

Still waiting for a biscuit recipe.  Down here we call cookies biscuits.


----------



## Michael in FtW (Oct 6, 2005)

Brooksy said:
			
		

> Still waiting for a biscuit recipe.  Down here we call cookies biscuits.


 
Humm Brooksy ... I thought I taught you how to use the "Search" feature here?

You call a cookie a biscuit - and I had a scone and thought to myself .. humm ... a cold biscuit!

This is a good thread for a basic discussion and recipes for All-American Buttermilk Biscuits.


----------



## Piccolina (Oct 6, 2005)

> Down here we call cookies biscuits.


 So do the Brits and the Irish, Brooksy...but I can't bring myself to do it (at least at home). To me a cookie is a dessert/sweet snack and a biscuit is a lovely, floury, scone-like treat to eat with meals


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Oct 6, 2005)

Too funny.  So many names for so many things.  I was taught as a youngster that scones were made by taking raw bread dough, leavened with yeast, and cutting off a small chunk.  then flatten it as you would a pizza crust, and pop it in hot oil.  Cook to a golden brown on both sides.  Searve with good strawberry freezer jam.


As for buiscuits, I use:
1 tbs. double acting baking powder
1 cup AP flour
1 tbs. sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk

Whisk the dry ingredients together then add the milk.  Roll to 1/2-inch thickness and cut out with the open end of a glass.  Bake at 425 until lightly browned.

To make with buttermilk, omit the milk and use baking soda instead of baking powder.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


----------



## licia (Oct 6, 2005)

My dd makes a really good sausage gravy (the only one I've ever liked). She uses 2 lbs of a really good sausage and then proceeds with the recipes similar here.  I think the difference is it is a meatier gravy.  I'd never had it until a few years ago. I'd seen what was called "sawmill gravy" which looked like a white sauce with a bit of sausage inside. She drains all grease from hers and the flour sticks to the sausage. It doesn't taste greasy at all.  I have a real problem with grease and it suits me well.


----------



## marmalady (Oct 7, 2005)

You can sub this out for the meat sausage, if you're into the 'healthy' aspect - it's a great product, and veggie hub and son love it!


http://www.solaeliving.com/soyproteinproducts/products/gimmelean.jsp


----------



## mudbug (Oct 7, 2005)

just bring me buckets of gravy.


----------



## crewsk (Oct 7, 2005)

If I bring the bibs & spoons, may I join you?


----------



## kitchenelf (Oct 7, 2005)

mudbug said:
			
		

> just bring me buckets of gravy.



ditto!................


----------



## Constance (Oct 7, 2005)

I guess I make my gravy differently than most folks. 
We usually use a whole pound of sausage in our gravy, then fry another pound up into patties to go with. But there isn't that much fat in good sausage, so I usually add a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease. I think that helps the flavor, too.
The trick to not having greasy gravy is to add enough flour to soak up all the grease. The roux should look dry. Once you get the flour stirred in, take the pan off the heat to add the liquid. Add the milk a little at a time, about 1 cup to each tablespoon of flour, stirring it to get out any lumps. The mixture will look thin, but will thicken up as you cook it, like a white sauce.

In the past, I made a lot of "cream gravy" with plain old bacon grease. For that, you need a lot more seasoning, as bacon doesn't have all the spices that sausage has. I always found that about 1/2 tsp sugar made it taste a lot better. At the end of the month, when the cupboard was bare, a person could get filled up real good on cream gravy and bread.


----------



## licia (Oct 7, 2005)

Constance, I think the reason I had such a dislike for the white gravy was because of the stories my dad told us about his growing up.  His dad died when he was nine years old leaving his mom with six children.  They really had a hard time growing up and said white gravy was what they ate many times.  I felt so bad for him and his siblings and my grandmother.


----------



## Brooksy (Oct 9, 2005)

Thanks again Michael and all who have tried to enlightened me.

After all, I am an Aussie male - we're not the bright globes in the box.   

Cookies, Biscuits, Scones, dumplings.......  

What about pumpkin scones? Er, pumpkin biscuits?


----------

