Homemade Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Most weekdays our mornings are hectic. Kids everywhere, me scrambling to get everyone dressed and hair brushed and PLEASE JUST EAT YOUR BREAKFAST! I love making my family a nice, warm breakfast to help start their day off right…but on weekdays, we’re all just trying to get out the door on time since it takes my kids no less than 30 minutes to eat a bowl of cereal on a school morning, so I don’t even try to push it with anything fancier than that. So, once the weekend hits, I’m all about doing breakfast the right way. Ask my 5 year old what her favorite weekend breakfast is and she will say ‘biscuits and milky-meat sauce’ AKA Biscuits and Sausage Gravy.

Now, there is nothing wrong with canned biscuits. They are a huge time saver, and even a brick would taste great under this gravy, but there is just something about the homemade version that is SO.DANG.GOOD. Our favorite biscuit recipe is actually from the Magnolia Table cookbook. Is there anything that Joanna Gaines can’t do?! Her biscuits are phenomenal. But the real star here though is the Sausage Gravy. I could (and have) eaten it with a spoon straight from the skillet. Yep. No shame here. My dad has always been the breakfast maker in the family, and his biscuits and gravy set the bar pretty high! I must say though, mine is right up there in flavor! Flavorful and hearty, it’s sure to please your breakfast enthusiast!

For the Magnolia Table Jojo’s Biscuits recipe, you’ll need:
*4 C flour (she calls for self-rising, but I use AP with no problems)
*2 Tbsp baking powder
*1 tsp baking soda
*3 sticks salted butter, COLD, cubed or grated
*2 eggs, beaten (plus 1 for brushing)
*1½ C buttermilk ***

***Now, I rarely have buttermilk on hand when I want this recipe. And by rarely, I mean never. Quick tip- you can put 1½ Tbsp white vinegar in your measuring cup, then fill to the 1½ C mark with regular milk. Stir and viola! Much easier than remember to actually write ‘buttermilk’ on my shopping list.

In a large bowl, whisk your four, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the cold butter (I just grate it right into the bowl as you an see above). A pastry cutter would come in handy right now, or you can use your hands like I do and crumple the flour and butter into pea sized bits. Don’t over work it with your hands, you want the dough to have little butter chunks throughout and warm hands can be a detriment to keeping that butter cold. Next stir in your eggs with a wooden spoon until combined. Now stir in your milk. The dough will be a sticky mess, but it’s ok! Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can also do this part the night before!

Scrape your dough onto a floured surface and work it with your hands into a ½ inch thick round. Use a biscuit cutter (or a well floured round glass) and start cutting our your biscuits. Place them touching on a sheet pan that has been oiled or lined with parchment paper. Be sure to combine the dough scraps into more rounds and cut more biscuits as you go…you don’t want to waste it!

Brush the tops with an egg wash and then bake in a 400° oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden on top. Resist the urge to eat them all before your gravy is finished.

Now for the gravy! You’ll need:
*1lb sausage
*4Tbsp butter
*4 Tbsp flour
*4 C milk
*salt and pepper to taste

Start with browning your sausage. Once it’s cooked through, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Don’t wipe out the pan! Those little bits are free flavor!

Melt your butter over medium low heat. Add in your flour and start to whisk it together to make a roux. Keep it moving so your roux doesn’t burn or clump up.

Now add your milk and keep whisking. Turn the heat up to a medium/ medium high. Continue to stir it and let it cook until it starts to thicken up. You want a nice bubble, but not quite a boil.

Now add your sausage back into the gravy and let it start to combine. Keep stirring it!

Add your salt and pepper. We usually go heavy on the pepper in our gravy, but you can tailor it to your families tastes. Trust me though, when you think there’s enough pepper…go ahead and add one more dash. By now, you should start seeing it really thicken up.