Sausage Gravy
Ingredients
1 lb Pork sausage; ground
1 tablespoon Black pepper fresh ground
1 12-oz can Evaporated milk; or 1 c milk
1 teaspoon Salt to taste
1 cup All-purpose flour
Hot sauce
Preparation
Selecting the right sausage
Part of the secret of good sausage gravy is the FAT. Sorry folks, but
the lean “good for you†kind of pork sausage just won’t make good
sausage gravy. If you are worried about the fat and cholesterol . . .
eat something else!! Select a good brand, just the same. My favorite
for making gravy is “Aberdeen†brand, but any brand with a good balance
of meat and fat will do. If you have a good meat market in your area
where they grind their own sausage, tell the butcher to grind you some
with plenty of fat left in.
Pre-measure your milk and flour and have it ready next to the stove, as
well as about a liter of water. Heat a deep skillet to medium high
heat. Fry up the sausage with about half a teaspoon of hot sauce, until
it is well browned and has rendered all of the fat. Break up the
sausage into small bit as it fries, so that it is the size of small
peas. Lower the heat just a bit, then add the flour to the pan. Mix
into the sausage until the flour is totally coated with the rendered
grease. You should not be able to see any more bright white flour. If
there is not enough grease to coat all of the flour, add vegetable oil
or lard until there is. You should now have little brownish
sausage/flour nodules. Add salt, to taste, and the black pepper. Add
the milk and about a cup of water. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking
up the nodules that have formed. Keep stirring and breaking up the
nodules until it begins to smooth out. It will get very thick; add
water until you get a nice, smooth, creamy consistency. The only lumps
in the gravy should be the sausage! If the flour was well coated with
grease, it will not be lumpy. Keep heating and stirring until it stops
getting thicker and you have the consistency you want.
Variations
Some folks make their gravy with corn meal instead of flour. I like
corn meal gravy, but gravy made with flour comes out smoother and allows
the flavors of the sausage and pepper to predominate. The corn meal
takes over and gives it a flavor and texture that’s totally different.
Give it a try!
I prefer to use the “mild†sausage and decide for myself the type and
kind of spice to add. Although it’s hard to make something too hot and
spicy for me, my family does not share my taste for hot food, so I have
to tone my cooking down for normal humans. Plus, the hot kind just
doesn’t make good gravy . . . it’s good for sausage patties or biscuit
sandwiches, but not for gravy.
If you want to make “Red-Eye†gravy, add fresh-ground red pepper, and
dilute it with coffee rather than water. Some folks love it . . . I’m
not one of them. I am a coffee lover, but it just doesn’t fit in with
the pork . . . ham or pork sausage are the traditional bases for Red-Eye
gravy . . . and to me, the flavors just don’t mix well.
Ingredients
1 lb Pork sausage; ground
1 tablespoon Black pepper fresh ground
1 12-oz can Evaporated milk; or 1 c milk
1 teaspoon Salt to taste
1 cup All-purpose flour
Hot sauce
Preparation
Selecting the right sausage
Part of the secret of good sausage gravy is the FAT. Sorry folks, but
the lean “good for you†kind of pork sausage just won’t make good
sausage gravy. If you are worried about the fat and cholesterol . . .
eat something else!! Select a good brand, just the same. My favorite
for making gravy is “Aberdeen†brand, but any brand with a good balance
of meat and fat will do. If you have a good meat market in your area
where they grind their own sausage, tell the butcher to grind you some
with plenty of fat left in.
Pre-measure your milk and flour and have it ready next to the stove, as
well as about a liter of water. Heat a deep skillet to medium high
heat. Fry up the sausage with about half a teaspoon of hot sauce, until
it is well browned and has rendered all of the fat. Break up the
sausage into small bit as it fries, so that it is the size of small
peas. Lower the heat just a bit, then add the flour to the pan. Mix
into the sausage until the flour is totally coated with the rendered
grease. You should not be able to see any more bright white flour. If
there is not enough grease to coat all of the flour, add vegetable oil
or lard until there is. You should now have little brownish
sausage/flour nodules. Add salt, to taste, and the black pepper. Add
the milk and about a cup of water. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking
up the nodules that have formed. Keep stirring and breaking up the
nodules until it begins to smooth out. It will get very thick; add
water until you get a nice, smooth, creamy consistency. The only lumps
in the gravy should be the sausage! If the flour was well coated with
grease, it will not be lumpy. Keep heating and stirring until it stops
getting thicker and you have the consistency you want.
Variations
Some folks make their gravy with corn meal instead of flour. I like
corn meal gravy, but gravy made with flour comes out smoother and allows
the flavors of the sausage and pepper to predominate. The corn meal
takes over and gives it a flavor and texture that’s totally different.
Give it a try!
I prefer to use the “mild†sausage and decide for myself the type and
kind of spice to add. Although it’s hard to make something too hot and
spicy for me, my family does not share my taste for hot food, so I have
to tone my cooking down for normal humans. Plus, the hot kind just
doesn’t make good gravy . . . it’s good for sausage patties or biscuit
sandwiches, but not for gravy.
If you want to make “Red-Eye†gravy, add fresh-ground red pepper, and
dilute it with coffee rather than water. Some folks love it . . . I’m
not one of them. I am a coffee lover, but it just doesn’t fit in with
the pork . . . ham or pork sausage are the traditional bases for Red-Eye
gravy . . . and to me, the flavors just don’t mix well.