Five-Ingredient Biscuits and Sausage Gravy | Kenji’s Cooking Show

Ingredients:

For every 3 biscuits:

1 cup (5 oz.; 150g) all purpose or soft wheat flour
1.5 teaspoons (about 5g) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (about 3g) kosher salt (if using table salt, that’s 1/8th teaspoon)
5 ounces (about 2/3rds of a cup) heavy cream

For the sausage gravy:
4 ounces (120g) breakfast sausage (plus a little butter or oil if it’s too lean)
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup heavy cream (milk will also work)
Freshly ground black pepper and salt

1. Preheat an oven to 425F. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the heavy cream and mix into a shaggy dough. Do not knead it. Dump it onto a floured work surface and for it into a rough log about 3 inches wide and 9 inches long. Cut it into three biscuits with a sharp knife. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. (You can brush them with heavy cream or melted butter before baking for darker and more even browning, if you wish.)

2. Meanwhile make the gravy: cook the sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it’s not longer pink. If the pan is very dry, add a couple teaspoons of oil or butter to moisten it. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and stir to incorporate. Whisk in the heavy cream or milk. Bring to a simmer while stirring frequently and adjust the consistency with more heavy cream or milk if it’s too thick. Season aggressively with black pepper and salt.

3. When the biscuits are done, transfer to a plate and smother with the sausage gravy. Serve.

[wj]

I would put some grated cheddar cheese and diced scallions in the biscuits to make them more intense

[someone]

It’s a brave confident and experienced man who stirs over an open drawer

[entity]

As an Englishman that's always wanted to try this dish (this is how I discovered and subscribed to you), breakfast sausage isn't a thing here. I cannot stress how grateful I am that you catered for those outside of the US and explained HOW to make breakfast sausage. Much respect and a million thanks. Also, having first-person footage....genius.

[Durtly]

"Biscuit" in the US is derived from the small hard bread called "Hard Tack" which were 'twice baked' shelf stable bread used on sailing ships. The "modern" home version evolved from the maritime version but is only baked once. The hardness of Hard Tack was countered with tons of butter, preserves, or gravy because they were intolerably dry without them. "Biscuits and gravy" is actually older than modern biscuits.

[TruckerPhilosophy]

“I will judge you if you let other people tell you how to make your gravy. “

IMO This is the essence of American sausage gravy. The best recipe is the one you make. Maybe you use butter like Kenji, maybe bacon fat like me, maybe Crisco like my dad. Spicy sausage, mild sausage, maple sausage. Buttermilk biscuits, fluffy biscuits, toast. It’s whatever you want.

[Aliciente]

At my VFW Post in Virginia Beach we used to serve an AYCE Sunday brunch which featured our house-made sausage gravy. We served anywhere from 60 to as high as 150 customers and we generally used 6lbs of sage sausage and about 4-1/2 to 5 gallons of milk. Seasoned with extra sage, salt, pepper, cayenne, ground mustard and fresh nutmeg. We made it as you did adding the seasonings to the cooking sausage, then adding the milk about 1/2 gallon at a time. Along with sausage and biscuits we served eggs to order, plus on our steam table line we had regular scrambled plus cheesy scrambled eggs, link "little pig" sausages, hot sausages, home fries, grits, toast, pancakes and waffles and two different heat levels of hot spicy sauce. Of course coffee, tea, milk, doughnuts, and fresh fruit. All for $8.00. I was only going to say how good our gravy was...guess I got carried. Anyway, I enjoy your channel and am looking forward to buying one of your salt cellars when they are ready. Add this old sailor to your waiting list if you have one.

[connorf]

I've always had to explain this to non-american/ non-southern friends who ask "why?" Its a very practical dish. Its cheap, it scales easily (just as fast to bake a dozen biscuits as 2), and its calorie dense. It was made as a way to shove carbs and calories into farm hands who were about to do a lot of work and may not be getting another meal for some time.

[RDNachozOfficial]

Just made this for my fiance and apparently it's the "best sausage gravy and biscuits" she's ever had! Thanks for the recipe!

[tac]

"guess the real answer is that everyone is wrong all the time." Strong contender for my senior quote

[rileye]

NC girl here, this is a real good walkthrough. The version common around here requires half an onion, which is extremely helpful to making a vegetarian version of sausage gravy. Great presentation all around

[judyt]

I’ve been making sweet cream scones for many years. Same recipe, just add a couple tsp sugar. Butter the tops and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Makes perfect shortcake. Freezes beautifully and cooks from frozen. Great recipe.

[bosefbatinella]

The milk carton placement at 11:03 took 3 years off my life in stress alone

[chancehulan]

Born a southerner and this is by far my favorite southern comfort, reminds me of weekend mornings with my grandmother making everything from scratch. As always, you've nailed it. Much love Kenji

[Guitargate]

Man, I have to tell you - I love the go pro on the head cooking shot w no edits. It really shows the thought process more than the “recipe” great stuff my brother!! Subbed :)

[Buckabuck]

You're stirring that pan of gravy confidently over the clean silverware, ain't ya

[chipacabra]

The backstory behind the great biscuit divide is kind of long and intertangled. Basically, back in the colonial days, "biscuits" as in "sweet little snacks to enjoy with tea" were popular, but during the Revolutionary period something as quintessentially British as tea biscuits became seen as unpatriotic. Fortunately, we had the Pennsylvania Dutch, some of the all-time great master bakers of history, and they gave us the "koekje", which became "cookie." Semi-unrelated to that, in the southern states a quickbread based on ships biscuits was becoming what we know now as the southern biscuit as better flour milling made it possible to turn the tough and hard biscuit ration into something soft and delicious.

[sanbilge]

I'm Turkish with roots in the Balkans. My grandma had a dish called paça (pacha) where she made a sort of bechamel sauce with yoghurt instead of milk and added garlic to it. The consistency would be thick enough to settle when cooled down a little. Right before serving it as a side dish, she topped it up with chili/paprika butter. It's certainly an acquired taste for some but I recommend it. I couldn't find an equivalent recipe in English, unfortunately.

[thomaswagner]

I love this man's videos. And I'm so glad he mentioned adding garlic. I always add a bit of garlic powder. I love the flavor pop it gives.

[rmartin]

Kenji's willingness to aggressively stir sausage gravy over his open silverware drawer makes him the bravest person I have ever heard of.

[janp]

Im Australian, so while I knew about biscuits and gravy from television, I never had them until 2013 when I was staying just outside of Zion national park. Absolutely loved them! Cant wait to try this recipe and reminisce back to good times in the US.