Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Biscuits and gravy on small white plate with fork.

Biscuits and gravy are a Southern staple for weekend breakfasts. Flaky homemade biscuits smothered in sausage gravy is the perfect comfort food.

Course Breakfast or Brunch

Cuisine American, Southern

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings people

Calories 616kcal

Author Jessica Robinson

Ingredients

Buttermilk Biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter cold
½ cup lard or vegetable shortening cold
1 ¼ -1 ½ cups whole cultured buttermilk cold

Sausage Gravy

1 pound ground pork sausage (sweet or breakfast) or deer sausage
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Buttermilk Biscuits

In a large mixing bowl, gently combine flour with salt and baking powder with a spoon.
Cut in the lard and butter until you have coarse crumbs. Incorporate the buttermilk and gently bring it together into a dough with your hands or a rubber spatula.
Start with 1 ¼ cups buttermilk and add more buttermilk as needed, if necessary. The biscuit dough will be sticky!!
Pat down on a lightly floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to gently roll into a rectangle shape. Fold several times. Roll out into rectangle about 1-inch thick.
Use a rubber bench scraper to help work with the dough.
Be careful NOT to add too much flour or overwork the dough. Cut biscuits with a 3-inch cutter, using a stamping motion, do not twist it.
Pick up scraps of biscuit dough and shake off excess flour. Press back together. Carefully refold the dough and roll out to a rectangle. Cut out the remaining biscuits. Be careful not to add too much flour or handle the dough too much!
Place biscuits closely together into a buttered cast iron baking pan or baking dish.
Bake in a preheated 475-degree F oven for 15-17 minutes or until the biscuit tops are lightly browned. Immediately brush with melted butter.

Sausage Gravy

While the biscuits are baking, make the sausage gravy. By the time the biscuits are done, the gravy will be ready.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a separate dish, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Stir in the butter until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth, cooking about 1-minute.
Gradually whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened. Add the cooked sausage back to the skillet. Season the gravy with salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. If the gravy becomes too thick, stir in a few tablespoons more milk.
Serve with warm biscuits halved and smothered in gravy.

Notes

Make sure butter, lard and buttermilk are super cold to ensure flaky layers

Use high-quality ingredients, such as flour and butter. Higher quality butter has a higher fat content and will yield better results.

Cut butter into small pieces with a sharp knife or grate frozen butter with a cheese grater before incorporating into the flour mixture.

Don’t have buttermilk? Make your own with 1 cup whole milk and 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice. Combine and let sit for 5 minutes before adding to the dry ingredients.

Do NOT twist the cutter when cutting out biscuits! Twisting motion will seal edges of biscuits and prevent them from rising properly.

Bake in cast iron skillet or baking pan. This helps biscuits bake better and more evenly.

Rotate your baking pan 180 degrees about half way through the baking process.

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