Dean's Sausage Gravy
I browsed the sausage gravy recipes online, and none did it quite my way. My finicky kids love it over biscuits.
I browsed the sausage gravy recipes online, and none did it quite my way. My finicky kids love it over biscuits.
- Carbohydrate 3.05136718523212 g
- Cholesterol 43.6205 mg
- Fat 19.8442549999709 g
- Fiber 0.0966843766661739 g
- Protein 9.069216562193 g
- Saturated Fat 6.96215378124539 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (73g)
- Sodium 394.275999999941 mg
- Sugar 2.95468280856594 g
- Trans Fat 1.55201128124034 g
- Calories 230 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat your large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Assemble your ingredients as the pan heats, because you won't want to leave it once you get started.
- Crumble up the sausage into small pieces.
- First you make a roux, melt the shortening in the skillet. Put in the flour, and stir constantly, adding more to get a thick roux, almost a paste. Keep stirring. If you make it too thick, add a little more shortening. Cook the flour until it is golden. Keep stirring. Then add the sausage. Keep stirring. when the sausage is cooked, that is no longer pink, then add enough milk to cover. Keep stirring. Reduce the heat a little once the milk starts to get hot. The gravy will start to come together in a minute or so. If it gets too thick, add more milk. Once its thickened and hot, add the pepper, salt, and hot sauce.
Adding milk to an unbrowned flour paste results in a raw starch taste that ruins the entire skillet. Maintaining medium heat on a heavy cast iron pan ensures the flour cooks to a golden paste before the meat enters the fat. Because starches scorch rapidly once milk hits the hot surface, having every component measured and resting beside the burner prevents frantic scrambling during the process.
Fat ratios dictate whether the final sauce binds correctly or separates into an oily mess. Whisking whole milk or two percent milk gradually into the sausage mixture prevents lumps from forming while the proteins hydrate. If the consistency tightens past a pourable state before the liquid fully heats, splashing in additional milk restores balance immediately.
Vegetable shortening provides the initial cooking fat here, though rendered bacon fat or lard can substitute at a one-to-one ratio if desired. Controlling the heat downward the moment bubbles break the surface protects the dairy solids from scorching at the bottom of the pan. Black pepper and hot sauce go in last so their aromatic compounds do not degrade during the long thickening phase.
Proper seasoning requires tasting only after the starch has fully swollen and achieved its maximum viscosity. Holding the finished sauce over very low heat for longer than five minutes causes the emulsion to break, releasing grease back to the top. Serve immediately over split baked items while the temperature remains high enough to keep the fats suspended in the sauce.
