The encyclopaedia of gravy
Sausage gravy is a thick American white gravy made from crumbled breakfast sausagemeat, its fat, flour and milk, served over split biscuits at breakfast.
What it is¶
Sausage gravy is a milk gravy with meat in it. Breakfast sausagemeat — heavily sage-seasoned pork, sold loose rather than in casings — is fried until brown, flour is stirred into the fat, and milk is added to make a thick, speckled, pepper-flecked sauce. It is served over biscuits, the soft American soda-raised kind, and the dish as a whole is called "biscuits and gravy."
Structurally it is a white gravy or béchamel relative rather than a brown gravy, which is why British visitors often find the name confusing. There is no stock in it and nothing brown about it.
History¶
Biscuits and gravy is a dish of American Appalachia and the South, emerging in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a filling, cheap breakfast for farm and logging work. The ingredients tell the story: flour, pork and milk were the things a rural southern household reliably had.
It spread nationally in the twentieth century through diners and, later, chain restaurants, and is now one of the most recognisable American breakfast dishes. See american sausage gravy tradition.
Typical ingredients¶
| Element | Usual choice | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meat | 400 g breakfast sausagemeat | Sage-heavy pork; in the UK, skinned good-quality sausages |
| Fat | The fat the sausage renders | Top up with butter if the sausage is lean |
| Thickener | 3 tbsp plain flour | It should look like wet sand around the meat |
| Liquid | 600 ml whole milk | Semi-skimmed makes a thin, sad gravy |
| Seasoning | Black pepper, salt, sometimes cayenne | The pepper is not optional or subtle |
Flavour profile¶
Creamy, rich, sagey and — properly made — dominated by coarse black pepper. It should be thick enough to sit on a biscuit rather than run off it.
What to serve it with¶
Split biscuits, first and last. Also over fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, mashed potato, hash browns and, at a push, toast. See gravy for biscuits.
The traditional recipe¶
Serves 4 · 20 minutes
You need
- 400 g breakfast sausagemeat (or good pork sausages, skins removed)
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 600 ml whole milk
- Butter, if the pan looks dry
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, plus more
- Salt
Method
- Put the sausagemeat into a cold heavy pan and set it over a medium heat. Break it up with a spoon and cook for 8–10 minutes until well browned. Do not drain the fat.
- If the pan looks dry, add a knob of butter. Sprinkle over the flour and stir for 2 minutes until it has absorbed the fat completely.
- Pour in the milk slowly, stirring constantly to keep it smooth.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until thick enough to coat the spoon heavily.
- Season with salt and an amount of black pepper that will feel excessive. It isn't.
The quick version¶
Serves 2 · 12 minutes
You need
- 200 g sausagemeat
- 2 tbsp flour
- 300 ml whole milk
- Black pepper
Method
- Brown the sausagemeat hard in a small pan.
- Stir in the flour, then the milk, gradually.
- Simmer 5 minutes and pepper heavily.
Vegetarian and vegan versions¶
Vegetarian versions using plant-based sausagemeat work well, since the flavour comes largely from sage, fat and pepper. Use a vegan sausage, oil for the fat and unsweetened soya milk — oat milk can taste too sweet here.
Common mistakes¶
Draining the fat — the fat is the gravy. Pour it away and you have made wallpaper paste.
Using skimmed milk — there is not enough fat to carry the flavour. Whole milk only.
Not cooking the flour — two minutes in the fat before the milk goes in, or it tastes raw.
Being timid with pepper — under-peppered sausage gravy is the most common failure of all.