Biscuits and gravy. Most Americans will know what that is, right? Non-Americans? Maybe not so much. So here’s a quick primer for you:
The difference between Biscuits and ‘Biscuits’
First of all, the biscuits are not ‘biscuits’ as we Brits understand biscuits. Here in the US, biscuits are kind of like an unsweetened scone. In fact, the similarity between scones and biscuits is quite striking with two notable differences: biscuits are made with a lot more butter and the liquid is almost always (but not exclusively) buttermilk. While biscuits are popular all over the US, they originated in the American south. They are often served warm with butter and honey or jam (much like a scone) or for a hearty and delicious breakfast (or lunch, or dinner), with sausage gravy.
Biscuit varieties
By an odd coincidence I’ve recently been watching a number of Southern chefs on TV making biscuits and no two made them the same way. Some of them alluded to their family’s recipe, handed down through the generations but to their credit, none of them claimed that their method was the ‘traditional’ way to make biscuits – just that it was their family’s’ traditional way. I believe that when it comes to classic regional foods there is no one single way that is the definitive ‘traditional’ way to make it. And so it is with biscuits.
Broadly speaking biscuits come in two varieties: tall and fluffy or slightly less tall and flakey but in between there are almost as many ways to make biscuits as there are home bakers who make them. I have made biscuits many different ways and I have to say, they are all good! If you have ever made scones you won’t have any trouble making biscuits.
In the recipe below I give my own personal preferred biscuit recipe but please, feel free to use your own favorite if you have one.
The flour
The flour used to make biscuits matters to some extent. In the South where this quick bread originates, cooks use a ‘soft’ flour; that is to say, one with a relatively low protein content. Softer flour makes a more tender biscuit. Other national brands of all purpose flours in the US have a slightly higher protein content which will still make very good biscuits but not quite as soft as those made with lower protein flour. Most all purpose (plain) flours sold in the UK are produced from lower protein wheat and work well for making biscuits. ‘Pastry’ flour, somewhere between cake and all purpose flours in its protein content, is perfect for biscuits too. In a pinch you can make your own pastry flour by mixing all purpose flour with 25-30% cake flour. But in the end the all purpose flour you have in your pantry will do just fine.
Forming the biscuits
Other than drop biscuits where you scoop a loose, wet dough into a cake tin (it’s much too wet to roll and cut out), most recipes have you roll out or pat the dough flat and use a cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits. You then gather the scraps to roll out and cut again until all the dough is used up. At each subsequent rolling of the scrap bits, more gluten is being developed which will make for less tender biscuits. Instead, I roll the dough into a rectangle, trim the edges removing as little dough as possible and cut them into squares. (Trimming the edges allows the biscuits to rise fully and evenly in the oven). That way I only roll it out once and besides, who said biscuits have to be round? And those trimmed edges? Gather them up loosely into a round and bake it with the rest of the biscuits. That will be the baker’s treat when they come out of the oven.
The Gravy
And what about that gravy? Say the word, gravy and you think of the luscious, silky smooth liquid you pour over your Sunday roast. In this context however, gravy refers to a simple Béchamel sauce cooked with savory sausage meat. It is variously called white gravy, sausage gravy, country gravy or just plain gravy. Whatever you want to call it, poured over biscuits still warm from the oven and you have something so simple and yet so sublime.
As with many simple foods the dish represents what in Europe might be called, peasant food. And like many hitherto peasant foods, biscuits and gravy has acquired a certain status in its own right, appearing on menus all across the country, even at white tablecloth restaurants. It is though, at its heart, a simple and thoroughly satisfying meal whether it is served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
For the gravy you remove the meat from the casing of your favorite breakfast sausage and fry it up in a pan, breaking it up into small pieces as you go. In a typical béchamel sauce you would combine more or less equal amounts of fat (usually butter) and flour to make a roux. In this case we use the fat rendered from the sausage meat in lieu of butter. Depending on the particular sausage you buy it may or may not render enough fat to do the job. If not you can add a knob of butter or a spoonful of bacon fat or, in a pinch, a glug of olive oil. To the roux you stir in a quantity of milk to make a basic béchamel sauce which you season with a little salt and a generous sprinkling of fresh ground pepper. I like to add some fresh chopped sage and/or thyme and perhaps just a little sprinkle of nutmeg.
Ideal gravy texture
Most recipes will give you a quantity of flour to add to the sausage, along with a quantity of milk. I like to add about half the milk called for and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer at which point the flour will have thickened up, then I add the remaining milk. You will want your gravy to be a bit thinner than you think it should be. If you serve it when it’s at the “ideal” texture in the hot pan it will begin to congeal as it cools on the plate and become unpleasantly thick.
How to avoid lumpy gravy
You will find all kinds of advice on how to avoid lumps in your roux thickened gravy. Most common is the instruction to slowly pour in the liquid, whisking as you go. I have never had much luck with that. I find that the flour starches immediately absorb the liquid creating the very lumps I’m trying to avoid! I have found that adding a larger quantity of liquid all at once (usually about half the liquid called for) works better. Adding a lot of liquid all at once lowers the temperature of the roux allowing the starches to dissolve before their heat sensitive thickening properties are activated. Whisking vigorously at this stage helps to break up and dissolve the roux. Then, as the sauce heats up and the starches begin to thicken the remaining liquid can be added with no risk of forming lumps.
Serving biscuits and gravy
By the time the gravy is done the biscuits will have baked and cooled a little. You simply split the biscuits, place the two halves on a plate and smother them in your creamy gravy perfumed with sage and nutmeg.
Although biscuits and gravy are best when eaten fresh, leftovers can be reheated. Just put the gravy into a frying pan with a splash of milk and gently bring it to a simmer, adding more milk as necessary to get a smooth creamy consistency. For the biscuits, you can nuke them for 15-20 seconds to warm them up or, if you have the time and the inclination, pop them in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 5-10 minutes for a more fresh baked biscuit experience.
Biscuits will freeze very well too. To reheat, thaw them on the counter and warm them in the oven as described above. Oh, and by the way, these biscuits make a great accompaniment to soup. Because they only take half an hour to make, you can easily have fresh quick bread on the table with your soup.
Biscuits and Gravy
Ingredients
The Biscuits:
- 10 TBS (5oz/140g) unsalted butter – divided, cold from the fridge
- 2 cups (10 oz/285g) all purpose (plain) flour – preferably low protein but use whatever you have on hand
- 1 1/2 TBS baking powder
- 1 TBS granulated sugar
- 3/4 Tsp salt
- 1/4 Tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- 3/4 cup (170ml) buttermilk – cold from the fridge
The Gravy:
- 1 1/4 lb (570g) savory sausage meat from your favorite breakfast sausage
- 1/4 cup (35g) all purpose (plain) flour
- 3 cups (680ml) milk
- 1 TBS chopped fresh sage and/or thyme leaves
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A light grating of nutmeg optional
Instructions
The Biscuits:
- Pre-heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Cut 8 TBS (115g) of butter into very small pieces.
- In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking powder and then add the cold butter. Squeeze the butter pieces between your thumb and fingers to flatten them. *See note below.
- Pour in 3/4 cup (170ml) of the cold buttermilk and stir to form a loose, crumbly dough.
- Dump the dough on to your work surface. Notice the pieces of butter showing and not all the flour has been incorporated yet.
- Gather the dough together to form it into a somewhat cohesive mass. If you have a bench scraper it will help make this stage easier. Otherwise, working quickly, just use your hands. It won’t come together completely and will still be a little crumbly.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle 1/2" (12mm) thick and about 11" x 7" (28 x 18cm) and use your bench scraper or the edge of your hand to even out the edges. With the long edge of the rectangle facing you, fold the right 1/3 of the dough onto itself. Then fold the left 1/3 over as you would a business letter. Roll the dough out to 1/2" (12mm) thick again and do the letter fold as before.
- Repeat the rolling and folding once more but this time roll the dough out to 8" x 4" (20 x 10cm)" and about 1" (25mm) thick. You can see the dough has come together quite nicely after the 3rd roll and fold. Pat the dough into a neat rectangle and removing as little as possible trim the edges with a sharp knife. Trimming the edges will allow the biscuits to rise evenly and to their full height in the oven.
- Again, using a sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 more or less equal pieces. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet. Gather the trimmings and form them into a loose round and set it on the baking sheet too. (That will become the baker's treat.)
- Melt the remaining 2 TBS (25g) of butter and use it to brush the tops of the biscuits.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until well risen and golden brown on top, rotating the pan half way through to ensure even baking.
- Cool on a wire rack. Notice the flaky layers created by the rolling and folding (laminating) process.
While the biscuits are baking, get cracking on The Gravy:
- Remove the meat from the sausage casings. Score the casing along its length to make this job easier.
- Heat a 10″ (26cm) non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces. Cook until there is no trace of pink meat left.
- Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir for a minute or two to cook off the raw flour taste. (There should be enough fat rendered from the sausages to make a roux but if it looks like there isn't, add a knob of butter or, if you have it, a tablespoon of bacon fat.)
- Add about half the milk and whisk vigorously to incorporate the roux (the fat and flour ) and to prevent lumps. (See headnotes above on how to prevent lumpy gravy). Continue whisking as the milk heats up and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the remaining milk and keep whisking, more gently now until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes or so. Adjust the consistency of the sauce with more milk if necessary – it should be like a pancake batter. (See headnotes above on ideal gravy texture).
- Add the herbs, a generous pinch of salt and a good sprinkling of pepper. Start with 1/2 Tsp salt (adding more if you think it needs it) and pepper to your taste. I prefer a fairly assertive pepper taste here but you can add as much as you like.
- Finally, grate in a little of the optional nutmeg but go easy with it; nutmeg can easily overpower the dish which should have just a hint of nutmeg in the background.
- Continue to cook a minute or two longer to allow the flavors to blend together, adjusting the seasoning as necessary and additional milk to maintain a pancake batter like consistency.
- By now the biscuits will have baked and cooled a little. Split a biscuit on each plate and smother with the gravy. If you have any chopped herbs left over, sprinkle a little on each plate
Notes
