Sage Sausage Country Breakfast Gravy

The ultimate comfort food, that's ultimately unhealthy. Perfect for the cold, dark months of fall and winter. I walked down the aisles of my local grocery store and saw Jimmy Dean's sage sausage on sale and thought to myself "Biscuits and gravy!" Elegant and simple, it doesn't get much better than this.

Prep time: about 5 mins.

Cooking time: at least 2 hours

Est. servings: 6 - 8

Today's Specimen

Ingredients

• 1 lb. sage pork sausage


• 1 cup portabella mushroom, diced small


• 1 cup yellow onion, diced small


• 2 tsp. garlic, mashed with salt (below)


• ½ cup unsalted butter


• ½ cup all-purpose flour


• 1 qt. whole milk


• 1 cup water


• ½ tsp. black pepper


• ½ tsp. salt


• 1 dash (about ¹/₁₆ tsp.) nutmeg

Directions

1. In a medium or large pot on low heat melt the butter, then once it's all melted add the flour (a quarter-cup at a time) and stir together with a small fork or whisk until all the flour is blended in. Turn the heat up to medium-low and cook the roux, stirring all the time, for 5 mins. You want it to bubble, not burn.


2. Add about a third of the milk to the roux and whisk in until it's blended in well, stirring constantly until it thickens, about 7 mins. Add the rest of the milk and whisk it all into a smooth mixture and let it simmer while you cook the other ingredients. The trick to a good roux-based sauce is temperature control, constant stirring, and adding the milk in batches to ensure a smooth texture and proper thickening.


3. In a large frying pan or saucepan on medium-low heat cook the sausage, breaking it up with a spatula into small chunks. Once the meat is evenly lightly browned transfer it to a mixing bowl, being careful to keep as much of the grease as possible to cook the veggies in.


4. Stir the liquid in the pot and then add the veggies and garlic-salt paste to the pan, turn the temperature up to medium and cook the veggie mixture, stirring constantly, for 5 mins. or until the mushrooms are soft and darkened and the onions just slightly translucent. You still want them to be somewhat solid, not fully sauteed.


5. Add the cup of water, the meat and veggies, and spices to the liquid in the pot and cover. In 5 - 10 mins. it should be simmering, so drop the temperature to low and be sure to stir it every 15 mins. or so for the first hour to ensure it thickens properly and nothing settles to the bottom. The goal to reach is something thicker than soup, but not too thick — think similar to the consistency of a stew or that awful fake pancake syrup.


6. After the gravy has simmered for an hour (don't let it boil!) drop the temperature down to the lowest setting and let it sit for at least another hour, stirring maybe once or twice, before serving.

Next Time in the Lab

Hmm, is there really anything I can to with this, without screwing it up somehow? The only thing I can really think of is to add a cup of bell pepper and maybe see what a quarter-teaspoon of rosemary.

• Add a 1 cup small-diced green bell pepper.


• Add ¼ tsp. rosemary, ground into powder.