Sausage Gravy

[fordwannabe]

My Sausage gravy is a little bit different. I use a pound of sausage AND a half pound of bacon. I fry the bacon and crumple it up in the gravy when it is mostly done. MMMM

[Electrod47]

Following

[MT Gianni]

I use home made sausage either pork or venison. Mainly 22% fat, salt, garlic, ginger, marjoram and some smoked paprika.

My wife hates milk gravy. When the kids want some biscuits and gravy I use a packaged mix from the store. I don't eat carbs for breakfast and that is what they like best. Both my wife and I make chicken, and beef gravies, for the few times a year someone wants biscuits and gravy, this works.

[SciFiJim]

Oh the horror...... While the instant gravies are more popular now I was lucky enough to grow up down south where you watched your grandmother make gravy as a kid. But it does seem to be a lost are for most of the US. Gravy is very simple if you do a few basics. First of all never add dry flour to anything once the liquid is added and its a sauce. You will get nothing but clumps.

You can make any kind of gravy by first cooking any kind of meat (roasted or fried). Then you separate whatever aqueous pan dripping on the side for later and take just the oil and make a roux. A roux is ~1:1 fat to flour, so heat the oil to medium then add in the flour and stir. You will see the flour sizzle some but keep stirring and it will make a thin paste. You can use it then or toast it a little to a tan color for a better toasty flavor. Then pour in at least a cup of water and pan drippings and stir rapidly. It should thicken quickly then keep adding water till it is thin enough. Spice it anyway you like and boil a few minutes and you have gravy. You will need to figure out how much oil and flour to use vs the amount of liquid but for a pint to quart of liquid start with 2 tablespoons of each. For a turkey dinner maybe 1/4 cup each. And if it is too thick just add more water.

This is a good skill to have....I once saved Thanksgiving when I went to my friends house and they cooked a turkey, took it out, and left the pan with the fat and sticky brown bits next to the sink to be thrown away and washed. I asked them about the gravy and they had no clue but with a 1/4 cup of flour and some water I made 2 quarts of gravy. They were amazed.

Unfortunately they did not have a bay leaf but all was still good..

Using that as the gravy base, it can be taken in a whole lot of directions. For the kids some morning, try chocolate gravy, just add cocoa powder after the roux is made and use milk for the liquid. It can be made as savory or sweet by adding a bit of sugar or honey to it to flavor. I made dill pickle gravy once on a bet. Diced dill pickles instead of sausage. Not something I would make again, but not a disaster.

Gravy is a great base to make any flavor your want. I could see an apple gravy using apple sauce or finely diced apples. Other fruits would work as well.

I could see mint gravy instead of mint jelly served with lamb. Gravy is great to tie different meal courses together or can by used as a contrast. Be adventurous and try something different. If it doesn't turn out, it's only a few cents in fat and flour.

[MaryB]

Gravy is a food group!