[USA]Sausage Gravy n' Biscuits-Western Breakfast Tradition

[Chuckwagon]

[USA] Runaway River Roux And Green River White Béchamel
Gravy For Biscuits Or Mashed Potatoes

Don't you just love good gravy poured over creamy mashed potatoes or sourdough biscuits? Shucks pards, I would eat the brown, caramelized essence of smooth, tasty turkey gravy poured over a rock! Most ol` outlaws, gunmen, and lawmen wouldn`t even consider (much less discuss), eating meat without some type of gravy poured over it. On the other hand, lumpy gravy is just about delightful as having a subpoena stuffed down the front of yer` shirt! Chuckwagon cooks avoided bullet holes in their long undies by making smooth gravy, so here are a few simple solutions for makin` gravy you won't have to beat with an axe!

My ol` pappy`s brother married a wonderful lady from Lourdes, France. Aunt Margie was a charm - one of those people you meet every now and then, who devotes themselves totally to others. The daughter of a chef, she had a penchant for all types of kitchen sorcery, but her flair for making exquisite mushroom gravy was remarkable. Mushrooms galore were found beneath the quaking aspens garnishing the ranch`s south mountain slopes and following gentle rains, we hunted them relentlessly, looking beneath fallen leaves pushed up from the ground. All unbroken, perfectly-shaped mushrooms went into bottles for preserving, while chopped stems and pieces, used mostly in salads, also regularly bejeweled both brown and white gravies.

Whenever sausage (or any other meat) was roasted or browned, it was removed from the black skillet or cast iron Dutch oven to rest (while recovering juices). Two tablespoons of the fat drippings were left in the utensil along with the charred remaining residue and its scorched sugars. The concentrated, flavorful, drippings left inside are called "fond" and it gives gravy its essence. Now, our gang of nasty horse thieves and renegades always liked the strong flavors of onions, mushrooms, and garlic, so we often crushed, minced, and sliced the goodies and added them to the drippings with a tablespoon of butter, sautéing them as they gave up their flavors. We controlled the heat carefully at this point, knowing that butter and garlic burn easily, quickly becoming bitter.

"Runaway River Roux"
(Roux Thickening For Gravy)

Next, a compound roux (pronounced "roo") was made. As the skillet or Dutch oven was returned to a medium heat source, flour, equaling the amount of fat drippings, was added to the drippings. We realized that any butterfat or oil became a suspending medium for flour while it was completely cooked to prevent pasty-tasting flavor. By scraping the fond continually until the flour was cooked in about three minutes, a roux of thick, rich, paste was formed as the utensil slowly heated up. Early on, we realized the longer the flour roux was cooked, the darker it became, slowly losing its thickening ability the longer it was exposed to heat. To produce attractive and tasty brown gravy, we cooked the flour until it became the color of peanut butter. Dark brown gravy was made from roux the color of a brick.

Then came the magic of a process called deglazing - the part where many cooks find lots of lumps and frustration. With practice, it didn`t take us long to discover that the secret is entirely about using the correct amount of heat. Butter, fat drippings, or oil, had enabled the cooked flour to become soluble as it was formed into roux. When liquid was added, it was interspersed. A cup or less of dry wine, dry sherry, water, stock, or any other favorite liquid, was poured into the skillet while constantly scraping and stirring the roux, loosening all the food particles from the bottom of the skillet as more heat was applied. Fruity wines, and hearty sweet wines made in oak barrels, were never used. With continual stirring, the deglazing liquid smoothed and blended the roux into a desired creamy gravy base.

Now, believe me folks, many "greenhorn hash slingers" without "saddlebum savvy", have glumly discovered if they added cold flour to hot stock, it was possible to mail their Christmas cards and prepare the following year`s tax return before the lumps were removed from their gravy - the very reason we use a roux.

Following deglazing, it was time to add any flavored stock or broth while continuing to heat and stir the mixture until it bubbled and thickened. It didn`t take long to realize that gravy will simply not thicken until it is heated to its boiling point. The proportion of wine, stock, or any liquid for deglazing, is mostly determined only by taste. The amount of stock added to the utensil is determined by the thickening power and volume of the roux.

If your gravy becomes too thickened, don't panic - merely add more liquid to thin it out a bit. Allow the heat to return slowly as you continue stirring the liquid until it simmers and starts to boil. If the gravy is too thin, cook it longer to reduce it, continually stirring the sauce while the heat slowly boils away moisture.

The Secret Of Making Great White Gravy

Making sausage gravy for biscuits, Aunt Margie always thickened her white sauces and "country" white gravy using a flour roux and milk, sometimes with sour cream added. She knew if flour were dropped into hot stock or milk, it would soon turn into inedible lumps - perfect slingshot ammunition! So, having cooked a nice pork breakfast sausage, she removed the pan from the heat and the sausage from the pan. Next, a cup of diced onion was quickly browned and a few sliced mushrooms were added. Incorporating 2 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of melted butter, she next mixed a roux paste. Raising the heat just a bit, she cooked the flour paste, knowing if the flour remained uncooked, the gravy would taste exactly like Elmer's glue. A bay leaf was added at this point and care was taken to be sure the roux for country white gravy was not allowed to darken or brown. Deglazing a pan for white gravy was done with milk only, as red wine would have produced a pink-colored sauce. Sometimes a little dry white wine or sour cream was added for flavor. If meat drippings were not available and extra flavor was desired, a little heavy, clarified chicken or beef stock was used while making the gravy base. Margie was always careful to avoid scalding the milk, and raised the heat slowly, stirring the mixture constantly until it began to bubble, simmer, and thicken - never walking away from the stove.


"Green River Béchamel"
(White Gravy For Biscuits)

As you remove the lid on your Dutch oven, and the sourdough biscuits jump out onto a serving plate, it is a simple matter to mix up a little white sauce with chipped beef or diced chicken to spoon over them. Yes, true béchamel contains only milk, and purists would lynch or run me out of town for perverting the recipe, but I've found pan drippings from chicken add a flavor that will win a prize! They will, however, slightly darken the sauce. If a slightly darkened béchamel doesn't really ruffle your feathers, follow this recipe for biscuits n' gravy worth shootin` up the town. This recipe was served to the outlaws who often patronized the legendary and long ago razed, Old Frontier Cafe in eastern Utah.

1 tspn. Green River water or... dash of sherry
1 bay leaf
pinch of fresh savory
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tblspns. butter
2 tblspns. flour
1 cup of milk
1/4 tspn. salt
pan drippings from sausage or chicken

Simmer the bay leaf, savory, and onion in the milk. Discard the solids and remove the milk to another pan while you prepare a roux of butter and flour cooked in the drippings. Be careful not to brown the flour. Using a little more heat, add the milk and stir the mixture constantly until it thickens and becomes bubbly. If the sauce becomes too "substantial", add a little more milk and try adding some of your best crumbled, cooked, sausage. Some folks like shredded, cooked, chicken or even chipped beef. You may even prefer a little of your own ranch-made, thinly- sliced, pastrami. Spoon the gravy over the biscuits and "watch 'em smile". Adding 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to Béchamel sauce, makes "Mornay" sauce! Try it over baked fish or any seafood slightly browning it in a broiling oven.

Be sure to try my sourdough biscuit recipe at this link: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5830

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

[NorCal Kid]

Thanks for posting this, CW. Our family really enjoys a good breakfast of homemade biscuits & sausage smothered in white, peppery gravy!

I'm especially proud of our youngest, Ryan, who was diagnosed with celiac at 16 and has spent the past two years adjusting his eating habits by avoiding anything with gluten. He's become quite the chef, and one of his favorite dishes is making the sausage-laden white gravy and biscuits (all made with a combination of rice, sorghum and potato flours). Add plenty of fresh ground tellicherry pepper and a splash of tabasco = great way to start the day!

Kevin

[Big Guy]

There is no finer meal than a plate of cathead biscuits smothered in sawmill gravy.

[ssorllih]

I didn't see a recipe in there for the biscuits.
So here goes:
For each two cups of flour add a teaspoon of table salt and a tablespoon of baking powder, blend in, by rubbing, a third cup of hard cold fat.. I use chicken fat or lard but is ok to use mixed fats including some beef fat. Mix in 2/3 cup to 3/4 cup of milk. Work into a ball in the bowl flour the table and flatten the dough ball to about a half inch thick and fold it in half and flatten again. Fold and make it neat around the edges and about 3/4 inch thick, cut out with a round cutter and place on a bak ing pan and bake at 425 about 20 minutes until they start to look like they have freckles . Makes about fifteen 2 inch or about six 3 inch biscuits.

[el Ducko]

I'm especially proud of our youngest, Ryan, who was diagnosed with celiac at 16 and has spent the past two years adjusting his eating habits by avoiding anything with gluten. He's become quite the chef, and one of his favorite dishes is making the sausage-laden white gravy and biscuits (all made with a combination of rice, sorghum and potato flours). Add plenty of fresh ground tellicherry pepper and a splash of tabasco = great way to start the day!

Would you mind sharing the recipe for the gluten-free biscuits, NorCal? Beloved Wife is gluten intolerant, and we haven't had biscuits in years. Either that or do you mind if I drop by some afternoon for biscuits after Ryan gets home from school?

Yeah. Thought so. I anxiously await the recipe. Thanks.

[NorCal Kid]

Would you mind sharing the recipe for the gluten-free biscuits, NorCal

Here's the recipe, ducko.

GF Biscuits
(Makes 16 good sized biscuits)

1 1/2 c. brown rice flour
2 c. potato (or corn) starch
1/2 c. soy flour or sorghum flour**(prefer Soy)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. xanthan gum (critical ingredient, no substitutes)
1 stick of butter (well-chilled)
1 c. Buttermilk
1 1/4 c. water
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly combine the flours, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum.
3. Grate the butter into the flour using the small holed side of a box grater. Mix all the butter into the flour so there are no large balls of grated butter.
4. Add the buttermilk, water, and beaten egg to the flour and stir until the dry and liquid ingredients are combined.
5. Using a large spoon, drop the dough onto a greased pan to make 16 biscuits. Cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. WATCH 'EM! Don't overcook them....

Add butter, jelly, jam or gravy!

NOTE: Sometimes he will add 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1-2 finely chopped chives or green onion, plus 2-3 strips of crumbled crispy bacon into the mix! Now those are GREAT biscuits!

These also freeze very well.
**Sorghum is a 'stronger' taste-not my favorite, so I like it when he uses Soy flour.

Kevin