I got the travel bug many years ago after reading William Least Heat-Moon’s iconic book Blue Highways. LHM’s travelogue inspired me to “See America First” – and that is what I did. I’ve visited just about every state in this vastly beautiful country with the exception of the Pacific Northwest.
On the road is how I got hooked on breakfast buffets. Those franchised dens of fat and cholesterol with their greasy breakfast sausage, soggy bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs from frozen concentrate; a bottle of Tabasco nestled in between the salt and pepper shakers. And that copper pot of coffee set right in the middle of the table and refilled as much as you like by a raspy-voiced sweetheart waitress named Flo who smokes Pall Mall cigarettes and calls everyone “Hon.”
You lean back and think “Life is Good.” And it is… up until about an hour-and-a-half later when you’re making a beeline to the Piggly Wiggly for some Alka-Seltzer and Rolaids. But hey, that’s part of the fun.
Now south of the Mason-Dixon line the buffets will sling you southern regional delights such as hominy grits, chicken and waffles and the subject of this rich breakfast recipe – biscuits and gravy.
Dense buttermilk biscuits drowning in starchy white peppery gravy. And, just to be true to the stew, we’re going to add some spicy sausage crumbles into that white elixir to ensure a genuine post-vittles heartburn experience.
Need This
1 – 16oz refrigerated roll of Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk biscuits (8 count)
1 – 2.75oz package of white gravy mix (look in the gravy aisle by the Knorr products)
1 – 16oz roll of breakfast sausage (Parks, Jimmy Dean, etc.) – thawed if frozen
Black pepper
Cayenne pepper
Do This
Heat your oven to 350 F.
Hiss a little non-stick cooking spray onto a large skillet.
Remove the breakfast sausage from its package tube and plop it into the skillet.
Wash your hands.
Now put a medium heat under the skillet. Fry the sausage on medium heat, using a spatula to chop at it until the sausage loaf is broken down into crumbles. Fry until golden brown.
Peel off as much of the label on the biscuits package as you can. Grab the can with one hand and give the middle of it a good whack on the edge of your countertop. The can should pop open in the middle. If it doesn’t pop, keep hammering the shit out of it until it does.
Separate the 8 biscuits and arrange them onto a baking sheet.
Bake at 350 F until the tops are golden and the bottoms a light brown*
While the biscuits are baking whisk the white gravy mix together as per the package instructions. Add the sausage to the gravy. Sprinkle in the black and cayenne pepper to taste. Heat together until it just starts to bubble, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat and cover.
When the biscuits are done remove them from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut each biscuit in half and plate immediately. Slather the white gravy over the biscuits and serve.
Serves 4. My cost approx $ 6.77 total – about $ 1.69 per serving.
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*They are usually done (or almost done) when you first get a whiff of them drifting over from the oven. GMN