The Best Biscuits and Gravy
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
30 mins
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Total Time
40 mins
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Servings
8 servings, 1 biscuit + 1/2 cup gravy each
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Calories
624 kcal
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Course
Main Course, Breakfast
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Cuisine
American
The Best Biscuits and Gravy
Description
The Best Biscuits and Gravy offers a classic southern breakfast featuring freshly baked biscuits paired with a rich pork sausage gravy. The biscuits use a combination of all-purpose flour, cold butter and vegetable shortening, and buttermilk activated with baking powder and baking soda to ensure a fluffy and golden crust. They are cut and baked to yield eight generous biscuits. The gravy is made by cooking ground pork sausage with a flour-based thickener and seasoned with ground fennel and sage, simmered into whole milk, producing a creamy sauce with a savory depth. This recipe yields 8 servings, each served with about half a cup of sausage gravy.
The biscuits and gravy are best served warm, either for breakfast or brunch, offering a hearty and filling meal. The biscuits can be reheated in the oven or microwave, and leftover gravy stores well in the refrigerator for up to four days and can be thinned with milk if it thickens too much upon cooling.
To ensure the best results, test that your baking powder and baking soda are active before baking, keep the fats chilled before incorporating to maintain biscuit flakiness, and consider making your own buttermilk by adding lemon juice to milk if needed. While raw biscuits freeze well for future baking, the sausage gravy is recommended to be made fresh when served.
Ingredients
For the biscuits:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (see note 1)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled (see note 2)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk (see note 3)
For the gravy:
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fennel ground
- 1 teaspoon sage ground
- salt freshly ground
- black pepper freshly ground
- 1 pounds pork sausage
- 4 cups milk whole
Instructions
To make the biscuits:
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, and shortening in until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. Transfer to large bowl. Stir in buttermilk until combined.
- On a lightly floured counter, turn out dough. Knead until smooth, about 8 to 10 times. Pat dough into 9-inch circle, about 3/4 inch thick.
- Using 3-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut rounds of dough (do not twist cutter) and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Gather remaining dough, pat into 3/4-inch-thick circle, and cut out remaining biscuits. (You should have 8 biscuits total.)
- Bake until biscuits begin to rise, about 5 minutes, then rotate pan and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Continue baking until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes longer, then transfer to wire rack and let cool. (Biscuits can be stored in zipper-lock bag for up to 2 days.)
To make the gravy:
- In a small bowl, Combine flour, fennel, sage, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Break up any clumps with a wooden spoon and do not drain.
- Sprinkle flour mixture over sausage and cook, stirring constantly, until flour has been absorbed, about 1 minute.
- Slowly stir in milk and simmer until gravy has thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt to taste (I like 1 teaspoon). Serve over split biscuits.
Notes
- Use fresh and active baking powder and baking soda to ensure fluffy biscuits; test baking powder by fizzing in boiling water, and baking soda with vinegar.
- Maintain cold butter and shortening in the biscuit dough for optimal flakiness and texture; cut into 1/2 inch cubes and chill before use.
- Make buttermilk by combining 1 tablespoon lemon juice with 1¼ cups milk and letting it stand until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- The recipe makes 8 biscuits with enough gravy for generous servings; store extra biscuits in a zip-top bag for up to 2 days and gravy in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- Reheat biscuits in the oven or microwave; reheat gravy on the stovetop, thinning with milk if it thickens after cooling.
- Raw biscuits freeze well for later baking, but sausage gravy is best prepared fresh on the day of serving.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 8servings, 1 biscuit + 1/2 cup gravy each
Amount Per Serving
Calories 624 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 biscuit + 1/2 cup gravy | |
| Calories | 624kcal | 31% |
| Carbohydrates | 49g | 16% |
| Protein | 19g | 38% |
| Fat | 39g | 60% |
| Saturated Fat | 17g | 85% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 5g | 29% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 14g | 70% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 87mg | 29% |
| Sodium | 974mg | 41% |
| Potassium | 416mg | 9% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 10g | 20% |
| Vitamin A | 653IU | 13% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 289mg | 29% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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