When I think of the ultimate comfort food, my mind goes straight to southern style home made biscuits and gravy. This gravy recipe is so indulgent, I typically only allow myself to enjoy it every once in a while, making it that much more of a treat. (And I tend to choose a morning where I don’t have too many plans other than lazing around and binging Netflix because I tend to over indulge with this particular meal, leaving myself feeling extra full.) But there’s nothing wrong with a little extra indulgence every now and then, especially when it comes to southern comfort food.
The dough for the biscuits is extremely easy to make with just 3 ingredients. Note that I used self rising flour here. If you use all purpose flour, you will need to add both baking powder and salt, which are the leavening agents.
I chose to use a cast iron skillet to bake the biscuits, but a sheet pan with parchment paper will work just fine. I just happen to love the extra crispy texture that the cast iron gives to the biscuits, and I overall just enjoy using it.
If you are looking for a veggie option, mushrooms make a great substitute for the sausage that is used in this recipe.
This is a classic southern recipe that you will be sure to turn to on many of your lazy weekends.
Savory Biscuits and Gravy from Scratch
Ingredients
For the gravy:
- 1/2 lb sausage
- 2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the biscuits:
- 4 cups self rising flour
- 1 stick + 3 tbsp butter
- 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425 and place cast iron skillet in oven to heat.
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In a large mixing bowl, cut 1 stick butter into the flour using a pastry cutter until you have pea sized lumps of dough.
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Add the buttermilk in batches, stirring until the dough is moist yet cohesive.
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Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and press into a 1 inch thick round. With a biscuit cutter, (or a mason jar lid, if you don't have a biscuit cutter), cut 8 biscuits. Remove cast iron skillet from the oven, add 1 tbsp of oil to coat the bottom, and place biscuits into pan with sides touching. You may melt 3 tbsp of butter to top the biscuits at this point, but this step is optional.
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Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
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While the biscuits are baking, brown sausage in a large pan over medium heat. When sausage is fully cooked add flour and mix with a wooden spatula until dissolved to form a roux.
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Add milk 1/2 to 1 cup at a time, whisking each time to dissolve, allowing the mixture to thicken before adding more. Add a generous (I mean GENEROUS) amount of crushed black pepper to the gravy. You can add as much as you like, depending on your preference, but in my opinion, more is better, and much, much, tastier.
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When the biscuits are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for approximately 5 minutes. Split biscuits into halves and top with gravy.
***Veg option:
Instead of using sausage, mushrooms are an excellent substitute, and still very tasty.
Sometimes the day gets away from me, so I write with future date’s for posting. In seven days, I’ll be sharing my recipe for the gravy in my biscuits and gravy – we have very similar recipes – must be a southern thing. Love your biscuits. Thanks for the great share – look forward to more!
Must be a southern thing for sure! Looking forward to checking yours out!