Growing up in a traditional Filipino household, you would never find sausage gravy on the menu. It wasn’t until I was about 8 or 10-ish years old that I was introduced to it. We lived near a Carrow’s Restaurant and let me tell you, I freaking loved that place.
If it was someone’s birthday or my parents’ anniversary, we went to Carrow’s. Back to school? Carrow’s. Late night munchies or Sunday breakfast? Carrow’s. Heck, I got in trouble with my parents once and guess where they took me to eat? Carrow’s.
It was where I had chicken fried steak for the first time. As a child, you would think if the food item had chicken in it, that it would actually be chicken, right? No. To my surprise, I got this piece of breaded red meat slathered in thick white gravy. I didn’t eat the meat, but you better believe I took that extra garlic bread and soaked up all that gravy!
Fast forward to today and it’s almost a given that anytime I have biscuits on the menu, sausage gravy will make an appearance.
SAUSAGE GRAVY
INGREDIENTS (serves 10 – 12, cook time 35 – 40 minutes)
- 1 pound preferred sausage, no casing
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1.5 tbsp of butter
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 to 2.5 cups half & half
- salt and pepper for taste
PREPARATION
- Using a deep skillet (or medium pot), cook sausage on medium low until browning occurs. Remove meat and set aside in a separate bowl.
- Add butter and melt. Slowly add flour and use a whisk to make sure it’s fully incorporated with the melted butter. Don’t worry about the bits of sausage left over in the skillet; that’s added flavor. Congrats, you’re making a roux.
- Stir the roux for about 3 minutes. While whisking away, slowly pour a cup of the half & half. Wait at least a minute or two before adding more because it’ll take a little bit of time for it to thicken. You’re basically using the half & half to thin out the gravy. If you have clumps of flour, start over. Or use an immersion blender to get those suckers out!
- Once you’ve reached your desired thickness, add your thyme, salt, and pepper. Turn heat off and serve immediately. Best to eat warm and on top of biscuits!
You’ll notice that my gravy isn’t exactly white. It’s because the sausage I used had tomatoes and a ton of red peppers in it. It was a bit spicy, but luckily the honey in the biscuits I made gave it enough sweetness to combat the heat!
More Than A Craving 