biscuits
breakfast
brunch
gravy
make-ahead
sausage
casseroles

"Growing up in the Midwest, biscuits and gravy were a staple on every breakfast menu in town. Though traditional sausage gravy isn't hard to make, it does requires some attention, which makes it a tricky dish for entertaining. With this casserole, however, you can assemble everything a day ahead of time and then bake it off the morning of."

Ingredients

For the gravy:
  • 1 teaspoon canola oil
  • 1 pound ground breakfast sausage
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 ½ cups milk
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
For the biscuits:
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 10 tablespoons cold butter, grated on a box grater and chilled
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk, plus more for brushing

Yield

Serves: 6

Preparation

For the gravy, heat oil in a large skillet to over high heat. Add in the sausage and brown, crumbling it into small pieces as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, sprinkle the flour over top of the sausage and cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

After the flour has cooked a bit, slowly whisk in the milk. Add in the salt, pepper and cayenne, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until gravy has thickened. Pour the gravy mixture into a 3-quart baking dish and cool.

For the biscuits, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. Add in the grated butter and lightly toss with your hands to fully coat the butter with the flour mixture—you don't want to break the butter pieces up too much. Add in the buttermilk and mix just until the dough forms to avoid overhandling. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more buttermilk.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and, with your hand, press it out until about 1-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cutter, cut out the biscuits until you have no dough left. You should have about 10-12 biscuits.

Place the biscuits on top of the sausage gravy and brush each biscuit with a little buttermilk. Refrigerate until you're ready to bake.

Bake, uncovered, at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, until heated through and biscuits are golden brown.