Breakfast · American-Southern
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Tall, fluffy buttermilk biscuits under a peppery, sage-scented sausage gravy.
- Hands-on
- 45 min
- Hands-off
- 15 min
- Total
- 1 h
- Makes
- 8 biscuits with gravy
- Serves
- 6
The oven heats while you make the biscuit dough, so the preheat overlaps prep. Biscuits bake 5 minutes hot plus 12-15 minutes cooler; make the gravy (about 15 minutes at the stove) while they bake and cool. About 45 minutes hands-on and 15 hands-off; total 1 hour.
Oven 230 °C · 210 °C fan, then 200 °C · 180 °C fan (450 °F, then 400 °F)
Pan 1 baking sheet lined with parchment (US: 1 baking sheet lined with parchment)
- medium
- brunch
- southern
- comfort-food
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? The gravy doubles easily in a big enough skillet; simmer until it thickens rather than for a set time. For more biscuits, make a second batch of dough rather than one huge one, and bake on a second sheet. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: food processor · large bowl and small bowl · baking sheet lined with parchment · 7.5 cm (3 in) round biscuit cutter · wire rack · large nonstick skillet · wooden spoon · instant-read thermometer · oven mitts
Contains: milk · wheat
Method
Heat the oven
Put a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 230°C (210°C fan, 450°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Ready when: The oven has fully reached 230°C (450°F) before the biscuits go in.
Make the crumbs
In the food processor, pulse the 425 g (3 cups) flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, the 113 g (8 tbsp) cold butter and the 4 tbsp cold shortening until it looks like coarse meal.
Ready when: The mixture looks like coarse meal, with no big lumps of butter left.
Add the buttermilk
Tip the crumbs into a large bowl and stir in the 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk just until combined.
Knead and pat
On a lightly floured counter, knead the dough 8 to 10 times until smooth. Pat it into a 23 cm (9 in) circle about 2 cm (3/4 in) thick.
Cut the biscuits
Dip the 7.5 cm (3 in) cutter in flour and cut out rounds; set them on the lined sheet. Press the scraps together, pat to 2 cm (3/4 in) again and cut the rest. You should have 8.
Hot start
Bake for about 5 minutes at 230°C (210°C fan, 450°F).
Ready when: The biscuits have just started to rise. They're not done yet.
Turn down and finish
Rotate the sheet, lower the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F) and bake 12 to 15 minutes more. Move the biscuits to a wire rack.
Ready when: Tall and golden brown on top and bottom.
Season the flour
While the biscuits bake, mix the 30 g (1/4 cup) gravy flour, 1 tsp fennel, 1 tsp sage and 1 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl.
Ready when: The flour and spices are evenly mixed, with no pockets of sage or pepper.
Brown the sausage
Cook the 680 g (1 1/2 lb) sausage in the large nonstick skillet over medium heat for about 8 minutes, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Don't drain it: the fat makes the gravy.
Ready when: No pink is left anywhere, and a thermometer in a thick clump reads at least 71°C (160°F).
Cook in the flour
Sprinkle the seasoned flour over the sausage and stir constantly for about 1 minute.
Ready when: No dry flour is visible; it has soaked into the fat.
Otto tried this firstOtto dumps the flour in as one clump and walks off. It scorches on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle it evenly and keep stirring for that minute.Add the milk and simmer
Slowly stir in the 720 ml (3 cups) milk. Let it come to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Ready when: The gravy bubbles gently and has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon.
Serve
Split the biscuits and spoon the hot gravy over them.
Swaps
- Instead of 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) buttermilk: 1 tbsp lemon juice stirred into 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) milk, left for about 10 minutes It's ready when it has thickened slightly.
- Instead of homemade biscuits: store-bought biscuits, baked following the package directions and served warm Make the gravy the same way.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Storage
- Biscuits keep in a zip-top bag for up to 2 days. Refrigerate leftover gravy within 2 hours and use it within 1 to 2 days.
- Reheat
- Reheat the gravy in a pan, stirring, until it bubbles and reaches 74°C (165°F).
If something goes wrong
- Thin gravy Why: It hasn't simmered long enough after the milk went in.
Keep it at a gentle bubble, stirring, until it thickens; it thickens as it comes to the boil. - Biscuits fall apart under the gravy Why: The dough wasn't kneaded.
Knead it 8 to 10 times before patting it out; that gives the biscuits enough structure to stand up to the gravy.
Good to know
- Whole milk gives the best gravy; half-and-half or cream makes it very rich.
- Mix the gravy seasonings while the biscuits are in the oven so everything is ready at the same time.
- Keep the butter and shortening cold until they go into the processor.
Safety
- Raw sausage is ground pork: wash your hands, the board and the spoon after handling it, and cook it until no pink remains and it reaches 71°C (160°F).
- The food-processor blade is very sharp. An adult should handle it and take it out before scraping the bowl.
- The oven runs at 230°C (450°F) and the gravy can spit. Use oven mitts and a long spoon, and keep kids back from the stove.
- Check labels: sausage can contain milk or soy, and shortening and buttermilk vary by brand.