Mom's biscuits and gravy

Whenever Mom asks for breakfast requests, my top choice can be predicted by nearly everyone in the family.  Biscuits and gravy.  They're my favorite.  Especially when Mom makes them.

 

Since having my own kitchen, this has been on my list of meals to cook.  Sadly, however, TDN has a funny allergy to pork, meaning that I didn't want to make sausage gravy while he was around and unable to eat it.  Yet, the first time I made them on my own, I wanted to use pork sausage - rather than turkey sausage or chicken sausage.  While he was on his long business trip, I finally made it happen:  homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, just like Mom makes them.

 

Ingredients:

Biscuits

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup shortening
• 2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups (less 3 Tablespoons) milk

Gravy

• 1 tube pork sausage
• 2 packets country gravy mix
• milk
• flour
• butter

Instructions:

Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.  Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two butter knives (pull through in opposite directions) until mixture looks like fine crumbs. 

In a measuring cup, add milk to lemon juice to make 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk.  Mix. 

Add buttermilk to flour mixture until dough leaves side of bowl and is soft and sticky.

Knead dough lightly 10 times on lightly floured surface.  Roll 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into biscuits with a glass (or a biscuit cutter if you want to be boring).

Place on ungreased cookie sheet with sides touching.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from cookie sheet and serve warm.

Gravy

Brown sausage in a frying pan. 

Begin by melting a little butter - or fat of choice - in a saucepan.  Add in salt, pepper, and a couple Tablespoons of flour.  Slowly stir in some milk until mixture thickens.

Add gravy packets and milk or water per instructions on the packet.  Follow instructions on packet, stirring constantly until gravy reaches a boil.  Reduce to simmer.  Stir in sausage, simmer five minutes.

 

Biscuit recipe adapted from Betty Crocker Cookboox