This post needs a warning label...for my Southern friends. They will think this is blasphemous because to them, Biscuits and Gravy are a Southern tradition...something not to be tinkered with...something so sacred, near and dear to their hearts (arteries) that when the South does rise again, Biscuits and Gravy will be declared manna and shall be served in the Halls of Congress, across the Fruited Plains and from sea to shining sea!! Amen. In the meantime, this is how we do Biscuits and Gravy up North.
You can use refrigerator biscuits or homemade from scratch or Bisquick, the biscuits are secondary here...it's the gravy that's center stage. But Bisquick biscuits are great - they take 12 minutes to make and bake - by the time they are out of the oven the gravy will be done...this is a quick and easy breakfast that will have you whistling Dixie before it's over!
So, what's the big deal?!? Southern style biscuits and gravy has little sausage in it...I like to call it an "introduction to sausage" because there's usually barely enough for a fork-full. This version has 1 pound of sausage, thank you very much, and to really set it apart from it's down-home cousin, it's got Worcestershire sauce and CHEESE!!! I hear you, you're thinking clogged arteries, instant heart attack...listen, you have 10 main arteries/veins into your heart and the odds of them all clogging at once are slim - you'd have a better chance of being struck by lightning while swimming in the ocean as a great white bites your leg right after being told you won the lottery...besides, you're not going to eat biscuits and gravy every day, although after one bite of this, you're going to want to!
Northwest Style Biscuits and Gravy - Pots and Pins
1 lb. pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Regular sausage)
12 biscuits (I followed the directions on the Bisquick box)
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 to 3 cups milk, depending on how thick you want your gravy
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Make biscuits according to package directions, bake and set aside. In a large skillet brown sausage until no pink is showing, about 8 minutes. Remove from pan and drain all but 2 tablespoons of grease. (If you don't have 2 tablespoons of grease, add butter until you do...we're talking biscuits and gravy, now is not the time to be squeamish about butter!) Stir in the flour and continue to stir and cook for about one minute, until the flour is browned. Slowly pour in 2 1/2 cups of the milk, whisking all the time. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and the pepper and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. If gravy is too thick, add remaining milk. Stir sausage back into the gravy, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
To serve: Slice biscuits in half, spoon sausage gravy over biscuits, smothering them. Serves 6.
Schedule appointment with Cardiologist, optional.
