Country Gravy with Sausage - Video Recipe

Breakfast is heavy. I grew up in the South where calories are king, and Country Gravy with Sausage was often the first meal of the day.

During my childhood weekend mornings, my Dad would get us kids started with this Southern staple for breakfast. There was nothing better than tearing up hot biscuits and drenching them in Country Gravy with Sausage.

And it is easy to make, if you use ready-to-bake biscuits. Now this is an extreme shortcut for biscuit purists, but some mornings I'm just too lazy to make homemade ones.

If you have a biscuit recipe then pair it with my Country Gravy with Sausage recipe. But if you are drowsy and cheap, then this recipe with store bought biscuits will do just fine.

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I use cheap ground breakfast sausage that tends to be quite fatty, but all that rendered grease will be put to tasty use when mixed with flour and whole milk. Of course, it's okay to pour out some of the grease, but do leave a little, as it adds so much lush flavor to country-style gravy.

You can even use any lean sausage meat substitute as well, but be sure to drizzle in some tasty oil for a richer gravy.

I use whole milk and regular white flour as the gravy base. Again it's okay to lighten things up with low fat milk, or even a milk substitute. You can use healthier whole wheat flour instead of traditional bland white flour.

Okay to use milk substitute like Almond Milk. 

All the ingredients are cheap enough as I get it all from my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. Breakfast sausage comes in 8 to 12 ounce packages. You can use as much sausage in the gravy as you like. And milk and flour are cheap enough.

The recipe comes together quickly, in the time it takes to bake biscuits for about 15 minutes. Just brown the sausage as the biscuits bake.

Once the sausage is cooked through, then sprinkle in flour and cook for a few minutes. Finish up by stirring in milk. Along with a little salt, I like a lot of black pepper in my Sausage Gravy, so don't be skimpy with it.

You don't want to serve this calorie bomb too often, but, boy does Country Gravy with Sausage hit all your flavor buttons.

Country Gravy with Sausage - Video

Play it here. Video runs 2 minutes, 27 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (about 2-3 servings)
5 biscuits - I used ready-to-bake. Okay to use your favorite biscuit recipe.
Breakfast pork sausage - about 8 to 12 ounces.
2 cups milk - whole or low fat. Okay to use milk substitute like Almond Milk.
1/4 cup of flour - white or wheat.
Salt and plenty of pepper to taste.

Directions
It takes about 15 minutes to prepare the gravy - about the same time it takes to bake biscuits. So you can start both at the same time. If the biscuits take longer to bake, you can keep the gravy at low heat, until ready to eat (stir in a tablespoon of milk at a time if gravy thickens too much.)

 Typical store bought biscuits cook in about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. 

While biscuits bake, in a large pan or pot, over medium heat, add raw pork breakfast sausage. As sausage browns, break it apart into smaller pieces. It's okay to use formed sausage patties or links, just break them up as they cook.

It's best to get the sausage nice and brown, at least on one side. The caramelizing adds a lot of flavor to the gravy. Cook the sausage all the way through for about 5 minutes (depending on the size of sausage pieces.)

 Breakfast sausage tends to have a lot of fat, so it's up to you how much rendered grease you want to keep in the pan. It's okay to pour out some grease to lower calories, but do leave a tablespoon for extra richness and flavor.

Next sprinkle on a quarter cup of flour. Stir into the cooked sausage and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

Slowly pour in the milk and stir to mix well. Keep stirring so any flour lumps break down. Once the gravy is brought up to a low simmer, it should begin to thicken in a couple of minutes. Once the gravy is thick and hot it is ready to pour over biscuits.

Almond milk version

My gravy recipe is for a thick one. You can add a tablespoon of milk at a time to thin it out some, if that's the way you like it.

Biscuit cooking time may vary, depending on the type you buy or make, so time the baking so both gravy and biscuits are done about the same time. You can get the gravy started first, as it is easy enough to keep warm, or just heat up at the last minute.

Serve hot biscuits covered in my delicious Homemade Sausage Gravy. Some like to tear their biscuits apart first, then spoon on the gravy. I just lay out a couple of them and cover it all with Sausage Gravy.

Larry The Cable Guy's Biscuits & Sausage Gravy - Deal of the Day

Except for the missing sausage part, Larry The Cable Guy Biscuits & Sausage Gravy frozen breakfast side is a decent Deal of the Day. I was ready to make joke that Larry should stick to comedy, but his cable reception for food is okay, at least for a blue collar breakfast.

The gravy part is creamy and flavorful, with a little black pepper heat. There is even a little bit of green bite from parsley. While the gravy is too salty, that's normal for most frozen fare, so I'm not that shocked.

The gravy had a nice cream consistency with a little bit of cooked sausage flavor. And they give you plenty of gravy to spoon over the biscuits.

As often the case, the box photo showed the gravy studded with sausage - well, not in this particular meal. I did detect a couple tiny scraps of sausage, but nothing near what the box illustrated. Hmmm, could just be my bad luck of the draw? Since I only got one meal, it's possible that others may have more sausage.

It is hard to review the sausage part of this meal when I could could not find enough to analyze. So I can't complain or praise something that is barely there.

I was pleasantly surprised how the biscuits microwaved. They held up quite well, still dry even floating in gravy, and tender too. I did have one small biscuit corner that was slightly tough - microwaving can cause hot spots.

While the biscuits were not flaky fresh they had some springiness left. It did not have that crisp shell top that fresh from the oven biscuits have.

Microwaving

We all have our favorite type of breakfast biscuit. These turned out somewhere in the middle, for me. The biscuit flavor was fine and mixed well with the creamy gravy.

The ingredients list is not too long either, which is a relief. Can't say the same with a lot of Deal of the Days I've tried.

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So on my Cheap$kate Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I give Larry The Cable Guy Biscuits & Sausage Gravy a 6 ! I had to take off a few points for lack of sausage and over-saltiness.

This Deal of the Day would compliment a regular plate of scramble or fried eggs quite nicely. It is always better to have fresh baked biscuits for breakfast, but Larry The Cable Guy Biscuits & Sausage Gravy is not a bad way to start the day.

Biscuit Pot Pie

This past winter the Chef has been on a home-made pot pie kick. Pot pies with leftover chicken, then turkey; pot pies topped with a traditional rolled pie crust, then with deli case canned biscuits, and even Italian garlic bread sticks. All are good, especially the roll of garlic bread sticks. Those are harder to find, so in this recipe I will stick with readily available pie crust and canned biscuits, both frequently on sale in the deli case at your local grocery store. As for filling, the Chef likes to grab seasonal veggies like asparagus and green beans, mixed in with the old reliables: red potatoes, carrots, red or yellow bell pepper, onions and frozen peas.
Of course, most pot pies are made with a grocery store bought pie crust. Well, the Chef is nothing if not unconventional, so why not use "Flaky Butter Tastin' Grands" biscuits by Pillsbury? They are often on sale at my local 99c Only Store.
If you like a super-thick crust, this is the thickest. It's like the Southern breakfast classic "biscuits and gravy," with the addition of veggies and chicken or turkey. Now, you can use any pre-packaged biscuit on sale. Biscuits are thicker than a pie crust, so after the initial pot pie baking, you may need to separate the biscuits and prop them up so the raw dough on the underside gets cooked through (see details below).
This post includes photos of both kinds of pot pie crusts. It's hard to beat a classic "pie crust" pot pie, but the Chef's "Biscuit Pot Pie" is a scrumptious alternative.

 
Ingredients

• 2 cups total of chopped veggies, including asparagus, onion, green beans, carrots and frozen peas
• 1 cup diced red or white potatoes (if you like potatoes more, then reverse veggies/potato ratio)
• 2 cups leftover turkey or chicken (about one whole breast or 2 leg/thigh quarters)
• 4 cups water (for blanching veggies for 5 minutes, thus making a quick vegetable stock. Reserve 1 cup for adding to cream sauce)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 stick of butter or 1/4 cup of oil
• 2 cups of milk (2% or whole)
• 1 thawed 16 oz. can of biscuits, or one pre-rolled pie crust
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. each fresh chopped herbs including parsley, thyme and sage - 1 tsp. total if dried is used.

Pot Pie Filling
No leftover turkey? Just submerge a whole chicken breast, or a couple of leg quarters, in seasoned water and boil for about 45 minutes to an hour until done; set aside to cool and shred. Use this flavorful broth instead of veggie broth. On to the pie filling.
Boil chopped carrots and potatoes until fork tender - about 15 minutes. Blanch other fresh-cut veggies in low boiling water for 2-5 minutes; a little crunch is good. Remove veggies and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of vegetable stock from blanched veggies. Melt butter and add 3/4 cup of flour to a pot. Stir and heat for a few minutes; do not brown. Slowly whisk in vegetable/chicken stock, then milk. Continue stirring until sauce starts to thicken, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut leftover turkey meat into bite-sized pieces. In a large, deep casserole dish add veggies, herbs, turkey and cream sauce. Fill casserole dish to about an inch from the top to give sauce boiling room. Cover dish with biscuits or a pie crust (make a few vent slits so sauce does not boil out with a pie crust - I usually put foil or a cookie sheet pan underneath just in case). For a pie crust, bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. With biscuits, after about 30 minutes, carefully check the bottom of a biscuit to see if it's still raw. If so, separate biscuits and place them on their sides, leaning against each other (you can form little pyramids) to finish cooking for 15 minutes more. However, if you like the texture of a boiled dumpling, don't do a darn thing to the biscuits - the flaky biscuit will have a dumpling like bottom. Remove pot pie from oven, reassemble biscuits on pot pie, and let it rest for about 10 minutes if you like your sauce thick.