Gravy for biscuits

A note for British readers: an American biscuit is a soft, flaky, savoury bake raised with baking powder or soda, closest to a plain English scone. It is not a sweet biscuit, and the dish is not a joke.

What to make¶

Sausage gravy is the standard: crumbled breakfast sausagemeat browned in a pan, flour stirred into the fat, whole milk whisked in, and a great deal of black pepper.

Plain white gravy without the sausage is also served, particularly alongside fried chicken or country ham.

And with country ham specifically, the answer is red-eye gravy — thin, black-coffee-based and entirely different.

Consistency¶

Thick. Biscuits and gravy is eaten with a fork. The gravy should hold its shape on the plate and cling to a split biscuit, not run into a moat. If it pours easily, simmer it longer.

The plate¶

• Two biscuits, split, still warm
• Sausage gravy ladled generously over both halves
• Often a fried egg on top
• Hot sauce on the table
• Coffee

Making it in Britain¶

The obstacle is the sausagemeat. American breakfast sausage is heavily seasoned with sage and black pepper and sold loose. The workaround: buy good pork sausages, squeeze them out of their skins, and add ½ tsp dried sage and plenty of pepper per 400 g.

Use whole milk. Semi-skimmed makes a thin, disappointing gravy.

See also¶

• sausage gravy · white gravy · red-eye gravy · american sausage gravy tradition