1 lb Pork Sausage ground
1 can (12 oz) Evaporated milk or 1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 TBSP Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt- to taste
hot sauce, optional
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 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.
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.
Frank's Famous Baking Powder Biscuits
There's no reason to settle for those substandard biscuits you find in the dairy case. This recipe is SO easy and quick, once you get the hang of it, that there's no reason not to make them from scratch. After a while, if you make them often enough, you will get to the point where you don't have to measure the ingredients . . . you can tell from the "feel" of the dough when you have it right. Don't worry though . . . just stick to the amounts below and you'll do fine! I have tried it with prepared baking mixes also . . . "Bisquick" is my personal favorite, and I can't really tell the difference. Except the price, of course! It's MUCH cheaper to mix it up from scratch.
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Crisco
2/3 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
With a pastry blender, or two knives cut the shortening into the dry mixture until it has the consistency of coarse cornmeal. (I've seen this done with two butter knives, but personally, I'd be lost without a pastry blender!) Add the milk while gently stirring with a fork. The dough that forms should be soft, but not sticky. You may have to add a little more or less depending on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen. You'll have to experiment until you learn the "feel" of the dough. Knead the dough on a floured board until smooth. DO NOT OVERWORK! Overworked biscuits will be tough! A friend of mine once said "Just flip it over and smack it twice . . . .don't work it no more!" Roll out the dough, or pat it flat. Cut with a biscuit cutter or a glass tumbler and place on a lightly greased baking sheet about 1 inch apart. This recipe makes about a dozen biscuits about 3 inches across and a half inch tall (unbaked). You can make them thicker, of course, but remember that they will rise up as they bake. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
