Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

I know it's not the most photogenic food ever, but some of the best stuff just isn't, you know?

I've been craving biscuits and gravy for a while now.  It's not something we eat on a regular basis, for fairly obvious reasons.  I think we'll have it maybe once or twice a year.  Oh, but those days are very happy days for me!  I've always liked biscuits and gravy, ever since I was a kid. When we were very poor, my mom would buy those super cheap tubes of biscuits that were about a dollar and make gravy from shortening, flour, and soy sauce.  You heard me right - SOY SAUCE.  Bless her soul, the woman is not ever going to be on Master Chef, that's for certain.  Of course, we were kids and it was all we knew, so at the time we thought it was pretty good.

When I was a senior in high school, I lived with my best friend and her mom.  Now, her mom could throw down in the kitchen.  She made the absolute best sausage gravy I had ever tried.  Finally one day it occurred to me to ask her how she made it, and I've been making it the same way for the past twenty years.  It's really good, simple comfort food.  Don't let the "hot" sausage scare you.  I can't even eat salsa and this isn't particularly spicy to me. My kids ate it too.  The hot variety just adds a little more flavor to the finished gravy.

Sausage Gravy

1 lb Hot Jimmy Dean sausage
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp (about 75grams) All Purpose flour
3 cups milk (I use 1% or 2%, never skim)
salt and pepper to taste

Crumble and brown the sausage in a large skillet.  Once it's browned, evenly sprinkle the flour over the top.  Stir it into the sausage and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the milk.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently and making sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil one minute, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until desired consistency.  Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Serve over your favorite biscuits.

Not gonna lie - I just make Pillsbury Grands. If you pop them into the oven right before you start to brown the sausage, it will all be done at about the same time.