Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

How To Make Sausage Gravy

Zoe Baillargeon
By

In times of distress, we turn to comfort food: Hearty, delicious, artery-clogging goodness that warms us up from the inside out and just makes the world a better place in general. The world is in a bad way right now, so many of us are turning to our favorite comfort food dishes to help us get through this trying time. And no region does comfort food quite like the South. Fried chicken, gooey mac and cheese, chicken-fried steak, grits … the list goes on and on. But one of the best comfort foods to come out of the South has to be good, old-fashioned biscuits and sausage gravy. 

This quintessential Southern breakfast dish is about as American as it gets: The Farmer’s Almanac looked into the origins of this iconic meal and found that it’s been around since the Revolutionary War. Because it doesn’t require many ingredients and is incredibly filling, it was the perfect, extremely caloric breakfast to fill people up before long days of work, especially in the logging camps of Appalachia (gravy is also known by another name: sawmill gravy). And biscuits and gravy really is all about the good stuff: fresh-from-the-oven, fluffy, steaming biscuits heaped high with a rich, creamy sauce and mouthwatering sausage. Although early sawmill gravy was done with bacon drippings, the recipe has evolved to typically use pork sausage, which is cooked first and then flour, milk, and seasonings are mixed with the left-over fat to make a roux sauce that thickens to a thick, oozy consistency. The sausage is then added back in and voilà.

How to make sausage gravy
Judiaann Woo

Although the South is the birthplace of this classic meal, it has spread across the country and become a favorite on brunch and breakfast menus everywhere. But one of the best places outside the South to find it is in Portland, Oregon. Many of the Rose City’s earliest settlers and workers came there from the American South seeking opportunity, working either in the lumber industry or in the hotels and dining establishments of the growing city, as well serving the towns and dining cars of the growing railway. And where these workers went, biscuits and gravy followed, and now there are even entire restaurants dedicated to it around town. So Portland really knows its stuff when it comes to biscuits and gravy.

Recommended Videos

Related Guides

Now, we’re not going to get into the perfect way to make biscuits, because everyone has their own family recipe that they think is best and we’re not going to open up that can of worms (although my grandmothers’ is the best, love you Grandmommy). But we will talk about the best way to make a delicious and hearty sausage gravy that is worthy of those family biscuits. For that, we turned to Judiaann Woo, a Portland-based chef, food writer, brand consultant, and former on-screen culinary personality for the Food Network, Cooking Channel, and more. The Oregonian listed her as one of the top Portland food Instagrams to follow, which is quite an honor in a city that’s as food- and Instagram-obsessed as Portland, and she’s even taught a class on how to take better food pics. With years of experience in the New York and Portland food scenes, she brings us her crowd-pleasing rendition of this timeless classic, which she loves so much that she even named her pets after it: Biscuit the cat and Gravy the dog. 

Related

Sausage Gravy

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

  • .5 lb. pork breakfast sausage, bulk or casings removed
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh ground pepper to taste
  • Pinch of cayenne, optional
  • Biscuits, for serving 

Method:

  1. Heat a medium-sized fry pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Using your fingers, tear off bits of sausage and scatter pieces to cover the entire surface of the pan. Cook sausage, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains, about 8 to 10 minutes. 
  2. Sprinkle flour over sausage and stir until flour is no longer white and visible, about a minute. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any remaining bits of sausage with a wooden spoon. Once mixture starts to thicken, reduce heat and simmer until the consistency is gravy-like. Season to taste with salt and lots of fresh ground paper. Add cayenne if desired.
  3. Remove from heat and serve over warm biscuits. If at any point the mixture gets too thick, just add a splash of milk and stir to loosen. Sausage gravy can be made ahead and gently rewarmed if necessary.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Zoe Baillargeon
Zoe Baillargeon
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Zoe Baillargeon is an award-winning travel writer and freelance journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. She covers travel…
How to make Ranch Water the right way
Looking for a refreshing beverage? Search no more, Ranch Water is here
A serving of Ranch Water cocktail

If there was ever a beverage built for day drinking, it's Ranch Water. The simple cocktail, born in Texas, can take the sting out of the hottest days and refresh you to the core without knocking you out with an abundance of alcohol.

We've just come out of our winter hibernation, so the days will be getting longer, and soon enough, the warmth will return. When that happens, you'd be wise to have some Ranch Water on hand for you and yours. Lighter than a margarita and far more interesting than plain water, the drink resides in a happy middle ground. Better, it'll tackle your thirst and keep you functional.

Read more
How to make soubise, a 3-ingredient onion sauce for grilled meat
Jazz up your meat with this delicious sauce
A plate of onion sauce on pork chops

If you're looking to level up your grilled meat dishes without using barbecue sauce, then soubise sauce is the sauce for you. This sauce is quick and easy to make. You only need a few ingredients and you’re good to go. By the way, it not only goes well with grilled meats, but it also pairs well with roasted meats and chicken.

In classical French Cuisine, the five mother sauces are the foundation of all the smaller sauces. One of these smaller sauces is the soubise sauce, which is an alteration of the béchamel mother sauce. With just a few simple pantry ingredients, you are on your way to a thick and velvety sauce that can elevate most meat dishes.

Read more
Make the best ever bruschetta with this simple secret
Don't like raw tomatoes? No problem.
Bruschetta

Tomatoes are one of those foods that can be very polarizing. People have strong opinions about these juicy little fruits (yes, fruits) and where they do and do not belong (don't get me started on guacamole). I myself took several years to come around to tomatoes in their full spectrum of delicious possibilities. I always loved tomato soups and sauces, but what I realized as I got older was that while I usually loved cooked tomatoes, I was very skeptical when it came to raw preparations. Still, well into my culinary career and love affair with food, a tomato has to be in beautiful, perfectly ripe shape for me to enjoy it in a raw state. And while summertime is when I love to indulge in bright caprese salads, gorgeously zesty salsas, and silky, spicy gazpachos, most of the year, it's hard to find a tomato I'll enjoy raw. That's why I created this recipe for cooked bruschetta.
Traditionally, bruschetta is comprised of raw tomatoes, garlic, onion, and perhaps a drizzling of balsamic vinegar. Admittedly, when the tomatoes are plump and gorgeous in their summertime bods, I absolutely love this preparation. Unfortunately, though, most of the year, those dazzling tomatoes aren't always readily available. That's why I created this recipe.
If you've ever wondered how to make bruschetta, this recipe isn't exactly the most authentic. But while it isn't necessarily the most traditional, that doesn't stop it from being absolutely delicious. Buttery, perfectly toasted baguette slices are topped with a beautifully caramelized, jammy, and rich tomato, onion, and garlic filling with just the slightest hint of sweetness provided by sauteed red bell pepper. The combination is truly extraordinary and will soon become your go-to appetizer for every party you host.

Bruschetta recipe

Read more