Sausage gravy ladled over biscuits is a classic comfort dish of the American south. While you can certainly use fresh, raw sausage in the preparation, it is also a good trick up your sleeve to deal with cooked sausages leftover from a brunch or barbecue.
Leftover sausages are often dry and a touch mealy. Just as you might flake leftover fish and mix it with mayonnaise, or shred leftover roast beef and heat it in barbecue sauce, coating leftover sausages in gravy reintroduces moisture.
One detail: to develop depth of flavour it’s a good idea to brown the crumbled sausage so that a good fond develops in the bottom of the pan. Once the butter and onions are added, use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan and lift those delicious brown bits up into the gravy.
This gravy is best ladled over these flaky biscuits. Some would consider this an affront to southern foodways, but I love a pile of nice greens on top.
Sausage Gravy
Ingredients
- 300 g garlic sausage (no casing)
- 115 g unsalted butter
- 75 g yellow onion
- 115 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 60 mL dry white wine or cider
- 750 mL pork or chicken stock
- 60 mL heavy cream
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- fresh herbs
Procedure
- Crumble sausage into pot on medium-high heat. Gently brown the meat.
- Remove the meat from the pot, leaving behind any rendered fat. Add the butter to the pot.
- Once butter has melted, add the onion. Cook until starting to turn translucent.
- Add the flour, paprika, and cayenne. Cook briefly.
- Add white wine while stirring.
- Once wine is incorporated into roux, add stock gradually while stirring.
- Bring gravy to a gentle simmer and cook briefly. Add heavy cream. Return sausage to gravy and simmer to combine flavours.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
Yield: about 1 L Sausage Gravy