Homemade Sausage Gravy: A 2 Cats Recipe

Sausage Gravy

Pride, Prejudice and Zombies…an                       instant classic?

Valentine’s Day is this coming Sunday, so I thought I’d talk about the things Chris and I do for love and eachother. Last weekend my fiancée went with me and a few friends to see the movie “Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies”. Now as you can imagine Chris had absolutely zero interest in the film, but he went without protesting or complaining after the movie was over (Side Note: The movie is super fun and Matt Smith as Mr. Collins is the highlight).  Since Chris did something just for me, I thought it was only fair that I reciprocate. I decided that I would make a very special breakfast for dinner that night.

..Yep, they came from a can…don’t judge me…

 I don’t know about you, but I love breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, toast, and cheese grits… why only eat it one specific time of day? My love of breakfast for dinner began when I was a kid and my parents would cook bacon and eggs at night every few months. Once I got into college and started cooking for myself, quiche and cheese grits became part of the regular dinner rotation. And finally when Chris and I began living together, we indulged in breakfast for dinner every few weeks. Eventually, we started eating less and less breakfast at night, but every once and a while for a treat we still break out the frying pan for scrambled eggs in the evening.

The cooked breakfast sausage, mmm porky

In my opinion, sitting through a Regency era zombie movie deserved an extra special meal so I decided to try making my own sausage gravy from scratch.  One of Chris’s favorite things to order when we go out for breakfast is biscuits and gravy and to be honest, I’d never eaten it until I made it myself! I don’t know why, but the idea of making gravy was intimidating. I think it’s because Chris likes is so much and I don’t want to screw it up.  After a little online research I realized that making gravy is just like making a béchamel or white sauce. Once armed with this knowledge, I felt confident I could cook a delicious gravy.

The gravy roux, cooked and waiting for the milk

The gravy bubbling away, getting thick and delicious

My recipe for sausage gravy takes only a handful of ingredients and no time at all. Seriously, in the minutes it takes to bake off some canned biscuits (homemade biscuits are intimidating too!) the gravy is waiting in my cast iron skillet for something to smother. The gravy is creamy, thick, salty from the pork, and super delicious.  I actually really enjoyed it and would probably not mind having it once a month for Sunday breakfast.

The true test for the gravy was my sweetheart, and he seemed super pleased. He commented that it was a little bit too thick, but an additional tablespoon of milk would easily fix the issue (or not letting it cool so much before serving).  Chris liked it so much that he had the leftovers for breakfast the next morning, which in regards to cooking, is the highest compliment I can achieve.

This breakfast is great for Valentines morning and breakfast in bed. If it’s like my house though, you’ll have two little faces waiting for the gravy leftovers!  And on that note, I hope everyone has a lovely Valentines weekend!

 

Homemade Sausage Gravy

(Serves 3-4)

3/4 Pound Mild Breakfast Sausage

1/4 – 1/3 Cup Flour

2 Cups Milk (I used whole, but whatever you have)

2 Big Pinches Kosher Salt

30 – 40 Turns fresh Black Pepper

1 Pinch Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking it up into chunks. Once cooked, remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and transfer to drain on a paper towel. Remove a few spoonfuls of the cooking fat until about 1/4 cup remains. Add flour and whisk for 2-3 minutes until the flour is slightly cooked but not browned. Add in the milk and whisk for 3-5 minutes until the gravy is thickened to your liking and bubbly. Remove skillet from the heat and add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and sausage. Mix to combine and serve over biscuits while still warm.