Drop Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Back in February, Mark and I went to Cracker Barrel for dinner with friends.  He ordered biscuits and sausage gravy, and ever since, I have been craving it.  Of course, I am not craving the sausage, but the soft, fluffy biscuits and the creamy, peppery gravy.  With my recent success with tempeh and fake chicken - AKA ficken - I got it into my head to make a vegetarian sausage gravy using fake sausage - AKA fausage.  I can promise you that no one else on the planet uses the word fausage because it's not that appetizing, but I can't help it.  Dammit, I was making biscuits and fausage gravy for dinner.

Whether you use sausage or fausage, this recipe is still pretty awesome.  Let's start with the biscuits.  Drop biscuits are awesome.  They are so much easier than the ones you have to roll out and cut.  You just make the dough and drop spoonfuls onto a pan.  They are wonderful and I admit to eating quite a few without gravy.  Plus you make them all in a food processor.  Simple and quick.

As for the gravy itself, I have to say that I found it way too peppery.  My mouth was burning.  So next time, the 2 teaspoons will definitely be cut down for me.  But with that aside, it's a great gravy: thick, creamy, flavorful, with flecks of pepper and chunks of fausage or sausage.  I was never big on sausage, but I am fairly certain that I could trick you into eating fausage in this gravy and you'd never know.  I have no one else to agree with me here because Mark refused to try it, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  Make fausage gravy or sausage gravy - you won't regret it.  Make it for a crowd; it serves 12.  Brunch, is that you?

Recipe:

drop biscuits and sausage gravy
from the Pioneer Woman
makes 12 servings

Ingredients:
for biscuits:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold but term cut into pieces
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
for gravy:
1 pound breakfast sausage, hot or mild (or fausage!)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk (1% worked fine)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 teaspoons black pepper or to taste

Instructions:

1) Make biscuits.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor.  Add butter pieces and pulse until butter is completely cut into the flour mixture.  While pulsing, drizzle in the buttermilk until dough just comes together and is no longer crumbly.

2) Drop in clumps on two baking sheets then bake for 15 - 17 minutes or until golden brown.

3) Make sausage gravy: with your finger, tear small pieces of sausage and add them in a single layer to a large heavy skillet.  Brown the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer plink.  Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Sprinkle on half the flour and stir so that the sausage soaks it all up, then add a little more until just before the sausage looks too dry.  Stir it around and cook it for another minute or so, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly.

4) Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens.  This may take a good 10 - 12 minutes.  Sprinkle in the seasoned salt and pepper and continue cooking until very thick and luscious.  If it gets too thick too soon, just splash in 1/2 cup milk or more if needed.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

5) Spoon sausage gravy over warm biscuits and serve immediately.