Everyone has that one food that they crave. For many it’s chocolate, sweets of any kind, ice cream or baked goods. Or all if you make up the general population. For others it is the delightfulness of carbs: breads, croissants (oh god croissants), pasta, and potatoes. I fall into that latter category. If there is an option of a dessert or a cheese plate, you can bet I’m gonna go with the cheese plate. And yes, while I say over and over that baking is not where my talent lies, I must admit that every once in a while I HAVE to make biscuits. It is a need. And what is great about biscuits is that they are customizable. Since fall is coming along nicely here in the midwest, I chose to make sage and cheddar biscuits. Delicious.
But let me rewind. While I happen to love biscuits and gravy, and making this dish allowed me to bake the biscuits that I had been craving for upwards of two weeks, I did not make this dish for myself. After a year together, my last roommate and I had to move our separate ways at the beginning of the summer. Our old apartment was being sold so we were getting the boot. Both our jobs were in different locations and thus we moved neighborhoods apart. A tragic story of friendship displaced.
Can you guess where this story is going? Biscuits and gravy are his favorite food and to celebrate a brunch together in my new place I was in charge of the meal and he was in charge of bringing the bloody marys. We have a very successful friendship. So balanced haha. I made everything by hand, including the sausage that I handmade a few weeks ago. Let me just say, this turned out so delicious that I forgot to take a final picture once everything was plated. Thank heavens I had enough for one more plate the following day (my stomach was happy about that too).
Cheddar and Sage Biscuits with Sausage Gravy
Feeds 3 people
Biscuits Ingredients:
- 2 C. all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 Tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 Tsp. salt
- 1 stick cold, unsalted butter
- 3/4 C. milk
- 1/2 C. sharp cheddar either grated or cut into squares
- 1/4 C. fresh chopped sage leaves
Sausage Gravy Ingredients:
- 1 C. ground sausage or about 3 links worth of sausage
- Remove sausage from links by squeezing gentle from the middle outwards…kinda as if you were milking a cow
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 1/2 pint heavy cream
- 1 C. chicken stock
- 5 dashes of hot sauce
- Additional Spice Options Depending on Sausage Used:
- If you used a breakfast sausage, I recommend adding a tsp of oregano, basil, and chili flakes to the gravy. This will give the gravy a little more kick.
- If you don’t want to go spicy, feel free to add in some fresh chopped sage to complement the biscuit instead.
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix together all dry ingredients off biscuit list.
2. Wet your knife and cut the butter into small squares.
3. Using a pastry blender, incorporate the butter into the dry mixture until the butter looks about the size of small peas.
4. Add the chopped sage and cheddar to the mix.
5. Add in the milk and lightly mix using your hands until you form a rough ball.
6. On a lightly flour surface, roll out the dough using a floured rolling pin until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick.
7. Cut out biscuits using either a cookie cutter or a flour rim of a cup or mug. I tend to improvise a lot.
8. Bake on a baking sheet for 10-12 minutes. I like to try one to be sure it’s done in the middle 😉
9. MEANWHILE. While the biscuits are cooking, add the sausage to an iron skillet. Trust me, this is the best option for making the gravy and kind of makes you feel like a pioneer woman in a weird way. At least with my apron on it did for me.
10. Brown the sausage on medium, do not pan out the drippings!
11. Prepare for the next step, because this part moves quickly. Next to the skillet, have the flour, cream and chicken stock with in easy reach. Once the sausage has browned, add in the flour and mix for about one to two minutes or until the flour and the drippings bind together and turn golden brown.
12. Quickly add in the cream and stir until everything is mixed together. Move the heat up to medium-high.
13. Once the mixture starts to boil, add in the chicken stock slowly, stirring all the while. Turn the gravy down to simmer (somewhere between medium and low where the gravy still bubbles every once and a while.)
14. Here is the moment where you can add in all the extras. Herbs and hot sauce were my game. about two tbsp chopped sage and 5 dashes of hot sauce. Be sure to keep stirring every once and a while until served.
15. If gravy is too thick, add in a little more chicken stock until desired thickness. If too thin, remove about 1/4 cup of the gravy juices and mix with one tsp of flour. Add back to the gravy, slowing mixing it in. Allow to simmer for two minutes and test again. Continue until desired thickness has been reached.
16. To plate, position two biscuits on the bottom of the plate and top with gravy. I also added two sunny side up eggs to the dish, because everything is better with an egg on top.
Time to dig in!
A Girl, Her Dog, and Her Kitchen 