Sausage Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits

Name: Sausage Gravy and Buttermilk Biscuits
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 32 min
Total time: 57 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, plus about 2 tablespoons extra for dusting; 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder; ¼ teaspoon (1 g) baking soda; 1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon (6 g) fine salt; 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into ½-inch cubes; 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, cold, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing; 1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the baked biscuits; 1 pound (454 g) bulk pork breakfast sausage, casings removed if using links; ⅓ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour; 3 cups (720 ml) whole milk, cold or cool, plus up to ½ cup (120 ml) extra to thin; 1 teaspoon (2 g) black pepper, coarsely ground, plus more to taste; kosher salt, to taste, start with ¼ teaspoon; cayenne pepper or hot sauce, a pinch, to taste (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

Tall, flaky buttermilk biscuits smothered in a peppery, creamy sausage gravy built on the sausage's own rendered fat. A classic American breakfast that comes together in under an hour.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 32 min
Wait: 10 min
Total: 1 hr 7 min
Makes: 6 servings (6 large biscuits plus about 4 cups gravy)

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Ingredients

6 servings

For the biscuits
2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour, plus about 2 tablespoons extra for dusting
1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
¼ teaspoon (1 g) baking soda
1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (6 g) fine salt
6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, cold, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
1 tablespoon (14 g) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing the baked biscuits
For the gravy
1 pound (454 g) bulk pork breakfast sausage, casings removed if using links
⅓ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
3 cups (720 ml) whole milk, cold or cool, plus up to ½ cup (120 ml) extra to thin
1 teaspoon (2 g) black pepper, coarsely ground, plus more to taste
kosher salt, to taste, start with ¼ teaspoon
cayenne pepper or hot sauce, a pinch, to taste (optional)

Equipment (8)

Large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Large mixing bowl
3-inch (7.5 cm) round biscuit cutter
12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet or deep sauté pan
Wooden spoon or flat-edged spatula
Whisk
Pastry brush
Rolling pin or hands for patting dough

Steps

Before you start

Keep the butter and buttermilk in the fridge until the moment you use them; cold ingredients make flaky biscuits.
Place the cubed butter in the freezer for 10 minutes while you gather everything else.
Use bulk breakfast sausage (not links) with at least 20% fat; lean sausage won't give you enough fat to make the roux.
Start the biscuits first. The gravy is cooked while they bake, so both finish together.

1
Heat oven, chill butterOven 450°F / 230°C
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 450°F (230°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- Cut the 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter into ½-inch cubes and put them in the freezer while you measure the dry ingredients.
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Ready when: Oven fully preheated and butter feels firm and cold
Tip: Let the oven preheat fully; a hot start gives biscuits their rise.
2
Mix dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk 2½ cups (300 g) flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt until evenly combined, about 30 seconds.
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Ready when: No streaks of baking powder remain
3
Cut in butter
- Add the cold butter cubes and toss to coat.
- Press each cube flat between your fingertips, then rub and pinch into flakes, working quickly.
- Stop when most pieces are the size of large peas and some are almond-sized.
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Ready when: Mixture looks shaggy with visible flat pieces of butter; no butter is melted or greasy
Tip: If the butter feels soft, freeze the bowl for 5 minutes before continuing.
4
Add buttermilk, fold dough
- Pour in 1 cup (240 ml) cold buttermilk (reserve 1 tablespoon for brushing) and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms.
- Turn out onto a floured surface and pat into a 1-inch-thick rectangle about 8×6 inches (20×15 cm).
- Fold in thirds like a letter, rotate, and pat out again to 1 inch thick.
- Repeat the fold once more.
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Ready when: Dough holds together with a few dry spots and visible butter streaks
Tip: Don't knead. Overworking develops gluten and makes tough biscuits.
5
Cut and chill biscuits
- Pat the dough to a 1-inch (2.5 cm) thickness.
- Dip the 3-inch cutter in flour and press straight down without twisting; twisting seals the edges and limits the rise.
- Cut 6 biscuits, gently regathering scraps once for the last biscuit.
- Place them touching on the baking sheet.
- Brush tops with the reserved 1 tablespoon buttermilk and chill for 10 minutes.
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Ready when: Biscuits are cut with clean, straight sides
Tip: Biscuits placed with sides touching rise higher than ones spaced apart.
6
Bake biscuitsOven 450°F / 230°C
- Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 15–18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway, until tall and deep golden brown on top and bottom.
- Start the gravy during the last 5 minutes of baking, or right after they go in if you move quickly.
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Ready when: Tops are deep golden brown and biscuits sound hollow when tapped on the bottom
7
Brown the sausage
- Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
- Add the sausage and break it into small ½-inch crumbles with a wooden spoon.
- Cook 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until no pink remains and the edges are browned and crisp in spots.
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Ready when: Sausage is browned with no pink and reaches 160°F (71°C); about ¼ cup (60 ml) fat pools in the pan
Tip: If there is less than 3 tablespoons fat, add butter or oil. If there is far more than ¼ cup, spoon the excess off.
8
Cook the roux
- Reduce heat to medium.
- Sprinkle the ⅓ cup (40 g) flour evenly over the sausage and fat.
- Stir constantly for 1½–2 minutes until the flour coats the sausage, no dry patches remain, and it smells lightly toasty.
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Ready when: Flour looks pasty and pale golden with a nutty smell
Tip: Cooking the flour removes the raw, pasty taste.
9
Add milk and simmer
- Pour in the milk in 3 additions, stirring and scraping the pan bottom after each until smooth before adding more.
- Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle bubble, stirring often, then reduce to medium-low.
- Simmer 5–7 minutes until thick.
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Ready when: Gravy coats the back of a spoon and a line drawn through it holds for 2 seconds
Tip: Gravy thickens as it stands. Thin with a splash of milk if it gets too thick.
10
Season the gravy
- Stir in 1 teaspoon black pepper and the optional cayenne.
- Taste, then add salt a pinch at a time; sausage is already salty, so usually ¼ to ½ teaspoon is enough.
- Add more pepper if you like.
- Remove from the heat.
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Ready when: Gravy tastes peppery, savory and well-seasoned
Tip: Season at the end, after the gravy has reduced, so it doesn't turn too salty.
11
Finish and serve
- Brush the hot biscuits with the melted butter.
- Split each biscuit in half, place on a plate, and ladle about ⅔ cup (160 ml) hot gravy over each.
- Serve right away with extra pepper.
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Ready when: Biscuits glisten with butter and gravy is steaming hot

Good to know

Tips

Use grated frozen butter if your hands run warm; toss it through the flour quickly.
For lump-free gravy, add the milk gradually and scrape the pan bottom as you stir.
Don't skip the folds in the dough; they build the flaky layers.
Gravy thickens on standing, so keep a little extra milk on hand to loosen it before serving.

Make ahead

"Bake the biscuits up to 1 day ahead and keep airtight at room temperature; rewarm at 350°F (175°C) for 5–8 minutes. The gravy can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Alternatively, cut the biscuits, freeze them on the sheet, then bake straight from frozen at 450°F (230°C) for 18–22 minutes."

Storage & reheating

Biscuits: airtight at room temperature up to 1 day, or freeze up to 2 months; reheat at 350°F (175°C) for 5–8 minutes. Gravy: refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months. Reheat gently in a saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking in milk 1–2 tablespoons at a time to loosen, until steaming (165°F/74°C).

Substitutions

buttermilk → 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar. Let it sit 5 minutes until slightly curdled, then chill before using.
bulk pork breakfast sausage → Bulk turkey or chicken breakfast sausage plus 2 tablespoons butter. Leaner sausage doesn't give enough fat, so the butter makes up the difference.
whole milk → Half-and-half thinned with milk (1 cup + 2 cups). Makes a richer gravy; do not use skim milk, which gives thin results.
all-purpose flour → Soft-wheat self-rising flour (such as White Lily), omitting baking powder and salt. Gives very tender Southern-style biscuits; keep the baking soda.