Biscuits & Gravy
Description:
Biscuits & gravy is a dish with humble origins in the Appalachia region of the US in the late 19th century. A form of biscuits was brought from Europe to the America in colonial times, which gained popularity in the Southern United States. With the advent of commerical baking powder and baking soda in the mid 1800’s, a recognizable version of biscuits took form in the American South. The combination of biscuits and gravy became a filling dish for the poor working class, as the pork sausage used to make the gravy was the most affordable type of meat at the time. Today, this dish has gained much more widespread popularity and is enjoyed throughout the United States, especially in the South.
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
Biscuits
1 cup flour (125g)
1 tbsp baking powder (2.5g)
1/2 tsp salt (3g)
3 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut in small cubes (42g)
1/2 cup buttermilk (120g)
Gravy
1 breakfast sausage, crumbled
1/2 cup milk (120 ml)
1 tbsp vegetable oil (15 ml)
1 tbsp flour (17 g)
2 biscuits
Preparation:
In a bowl, mix together the dry biscuit ingredients. Add the butter and crumble with your hands until you have a crumbly butter flour mixture without any chunks of butter remaining. Then mix in the buttermilk until just combined. Do not overmix. Roll out dough until it is around 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Use a cutter to cut out circular biscuits. Alternatively, cut the biscuits into squares.
Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 400-degree oven until golden brown.
In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium high and add the sausage. Cook until fat is rendered and sausage is browned. Then sprinkle in the flour and stir to form a roux- cook for about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Let the sauce thicken for another minute or two, then remove from heat.
Season gravy to taste with salt and pepper, then spoon over biscuits to serve.
Notes:
Any type of sweet, fresh sausage will work in place of breakfast sausage - the main flavorings of breakfast sausage are fennel, sage, rosemary, thyme and black pepper.
If you cant find buttermilk, the best substitute is whole milk or 1/2 part sour cream thinned out with 1/2 part water. Thinned out yogurt could work as well.