BUTTERMILK BISCUITS WITH SAUSAGE GRAVY

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS WITH SAUSAGE GRAVY image

Yield 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

For the sausage gravy:
1/2 pound bulk sausage
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules or 1/2 cube
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
For the buttermilk biscuits:
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into tiny chunks
3/4 to 1 cups buttermilk

Steps:

For the biscuits: Preheat oven to 375° F. Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl; using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until pebbly. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in buttermilk. Use your hands to fold the buttermilk into the dry ingredients. Add a bit more buttermilk if it seems too dry. Season with salt. Place the dough on a floured surface. Trying not to use your hands too much, turn the dough over a few times until it has a few layers and then pat it out until it's a little more than 1 inch thick. Scour your cupboard until you find a glass with about a 3-inch diameter. (Try the glass you were drinking the pinot grigio from on the previous evening.) Make sure it's clean, then use it to cut out biscuits (fold scraps together to make the last biscuit); place on an ungreased cookie sheet so that the sides do not touch. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Split and top with sausage gravy. Meanwhile, make sausage gravy: Crumble sausage into skillet; sauté until no longer pink. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out sausage and set aside; drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat. Return the pan and the reserved fat to the heat; stir in flour, scraping up sausage bits at the bottom of the pan. Stir in sage, thyme, and bouillon granules, stir to mix, and add milk. Stir over medium heat until thickened; adjust with extra milk. Stir in reserved crumbled sausage and serve over split biscuits.