Main dish
Easy Biscuits and Gravy Recipe
Beginner-friendlyshared by Nibblore Kitchen
These tender, flaky buttermilk biscuits are covered with creamy sausage gravy seasoned with black pepper and sage. Keeping the biscuit dough cold creates lofty layers, while a flour-coated sausage roux produces smooth gravy without a separate pan. It is a satisfying choice for breakfast, brunch, or a casual breakfast-for-dinner. • Chill the cubed butter and measured buttermilk until the moment they are needed; cold ingredients create steam pockets and taller biscuits. • Dip the biscuit cutter in flour and press straight down. Twisting seals the cut edges and can prevent an even rise. • Stop reducing the gravy while it looks slightly looser than desired because it continues to thicken as it stands. • Use plain whole-milk kefir in place of buttermilk in the same quantity. • Substitute an equal weight of bulk turkey breakfast sausage, cooking it to at least 165°F (74°C); add 1 extra tablespoon butter if the pan looks dry. • For a milder gravy, omit the cayenne and reduce the black pepper to 1/2 teaspoon. Refrigerate biscuits and gravy separately in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Freeze cooled biscuits for up to 2 months; the dairy gravy is best refrigerated rather than frozen because it may separate. Reheat biscuits in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Warm gravy gently in a saucepan, stirring in a splash of milk until smooth and simmering; reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C).
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cupall-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tbspbaking powder
- ¼ tspbaking soda
- 1 ¼ tspfine salt, divided
- 1 tspgranulated sugar
- 6 tbspcold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ¾ cupcold full-fat buttermilk, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
- 12 ozbulk breakfast pork sausage
- 2 tbspunsalted butter
- 2 ¾ cupwhole milk, divided
- ¾ tspcoarsely ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- ¼ tspdried rubbed sage
- 1 pinchground cayenne pepper
Instructions
- 1Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with a rack in the upper-middle position. Line a light-colored rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 2Whisk 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the sugar in a large bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and press it into thin flakes with your fingertips until the mixture contains pea-size pieces and flat butter shards.
- 3Pour in 3/4 cup cold buttermilk and stir gently with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, pat it into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle, fold it in thirds like a letter, and rotate it 90 degrees. Repeat the patting and folding once, handling the dough as little as possible.
- 4Pat the dough to an even 1-inch thickness. Cut out 6 biscuits with a floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter, pressing straight down without twisting; gently press scraps together once if needed. Arrange the biscuits on the prepared sheet with their sides touching and brush the tops with 1 tablespoon buttermilk.
- 5Bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until the biscuits are tall and deep golden on top and register about 205°F (96°C) in the center. Begin the gravy while they bake.
- 6Place a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned with no pink remaining and an internal temperature of at least 160°F (71°C).
- 7Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the sausage and stir until melted. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup flour over the meat and cook, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes; the flour should coat the crumbles and smell lightly toasted without browning deeply.
- 8Gradually stir in 2 1/2 cups of the milk, adding about 1/2 cup at a time and scraping up the browned bits after each addition. Stir in the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, sage, and cayenne.
- 9Bring the gravy to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until it coats the back of a spoon but remains pourable. Stir in some or all of the remaining 1/4 cup milk if it becomes too thick, then taste and adjust the salt or pepper.
- 10Split the hot biscuits across their middles and place two halves on each plate. Spoon the warm sausage gravy generously over them and serve immediately with additional black pepper.