Biscuits And Gravy Recipe

Prepare oven and dry ingredients

Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone mat. In a large bowl, whisk together 5 cups flour, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 2 teaspoons salt until evenly combined.

Cut in butter

Dice 1 cup cold unsalted butter into small cubes. Using a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingertips, cut the butter into the dry mixture until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining (about 6–8 passes). Keep the butter cold—work quickly.

Add buttermilk and form dough

Pour 2 cups cold buttermilk into the flour-butter mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon or spatula until the dough just comes together and is shaggy. Do not overmix; there should still be visible bits of butter.

Turn out and fold

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (use 1/4 cup flour for dusting). Pat the dough into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Fold the dough onto itself in thirds (like a letter) and gently press it back to 1-inch thickness. Repeat one more time to create layers, handling as little as possible.

Cut biscuits

Using a 2.75–3-inch round biscuit cutter (or a floured glass), press straight down without twisting to cut 10 biscuits. Re-shape scraps once and cut remaining biscuits to total about 10. Place biscuits on the prepared sheet close together for taller biscuits or spaced for crisper edges.

Bake

Brush tops lightly with 2 tablespoons melted butter if desired. Bake in the preheated oven 12–15 minutes, until biscuits are risen and golden brown on top. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Keep warm while preparing gravy.

Brown the sausage

In a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, add 2 pounds bulk country pork sausage. Break into small pieces with a spatula and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and no longer pink (6–8 minutes). Do not drain all the fat—leave approximately 3–4 tablespoons of rendered fat in the pan (remove excess if more).

Make the roux

Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle 1/2 cup all-purpose flour evenly over the cooked sausage and fat. Stir continuously for 1–2 minutes to cook the raw flour flavor and combine with fat and sausage. The mixture will become pasty and bubbly.

Add milk and simmer

Slowly whisk in 6 cups whole milk a little at a time to avoid lumps, bringing the gravy to a gentle simmer. If gravy becomes too thick, stir in up to 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock to reach desired consistency. Continue to simmer, stirring frequently, until gravy thickens to a creamy sauce that coats the back of a spoon (6–8 minutes).

Season and finish

Season the gravy with 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes if using. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. If the gravy is too salty because of the sausage, add up to 1/2 cup more milk or stock to balance. Keep gravy warm over the lowest heat, stirring occasionally, while biscuits finish baking.

Split or halve the warm biscuits and place two halves per order (10 orders = 20 halves, or serve two whole biscuits per order). Spoon a generous portion of hot sausage gravy over each split biscuit — about 3/4 to 1 cup gravy per order (adjust to preference).

Garnish each plate with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley if desired. Serve immediately while gravy is hot and biscuits are fresh.