Biscuits and gravy is one of my favorite breakfasts, at least when I want some kind of hot comfort food that will keep me full until lunch. It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but like you're going to care about then when hung over or glumly averting your gaze from the dreary late-fall weather outside your window? Save the granola and fruit in yogurt for when you're being functional, motivated, and happy, I say!
Preparation: approx. 45 mins.
Cooking: min. 1 hour 30 mins.
Servings: approx. 15
Est. cost: approx. $12 (not counting bacon fat)
Today's Specimen
Ingredients
- 1 lb. maple pork sausage, bulk or removed from the casing
- ½ gallon whole milk
- 2 cups bacon fat, filtered
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 medium (approx. 2½ cups) yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 medium (approx. 1 cup) poblano pepper, oven-roasted and finely diced
- 2 cloves (approx. 1 tablespoon) garlic, crushed with ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 cups water
- 2 tsp. ground sage
- 1 tsp. ground marjoram
- ¼ tsp. white pepper
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 pinch (⅛ tsp.) nutmeg
- 1 pinch (⅛ tsp.) cumin
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF and roast the poblano in it for about forty to forty-five minutes, turning over once or twice. At the same time cook the sausage in a large sauce pan on medium heat, breaking up with a spatula and adding the onion and garlic to it after about twenty minutes.
- In a large pot (at least four-quart capacity) on low heat melt the butter and the bacon fat together and add the flour one cup at a time and thoroughly whisk to form a roux. Then slowly pour in the milk in thirds, whisking each portion until the roux has dissolved thoroughly into the milk. Afterward stir in the two cups of water. Cover and simmer on low, stirring every ten or fifteen minutes until the other ingredients are done cooking.
- Add all the other ingredients and herbs and spices and continue simmering everything — still covered — for at least an hour and a half. Stir in a cup of water if the gravy becomes too thick.
Next Time in the Lab
I like this, quite a bit, but I'm not so sure I want to try making a roux without the bacon fat to see if it adversely affects the flavor. Other than that the spice mixture seems to be perfect for the sweetness of the maple sausage.
- Substitute three cups of unsalted butter for the two cups of bacon fat with the one cup of unsalted butter.
