Biscuits and Gravy

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line a small baking tray with baking paper. In a bowl, whisk together the plain flour, baking powder, and fine salt for the biscuits.

2. 2

   Cut the cold unsalted butter into the flour mixture using your fingertips or a pastry cutter until you have a coarse, crumbly texture with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible; those pieces help the biscuits rise and turn flaky. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir just until a shaggy dough forms.

3. 3

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, pat it into a 2 cm thick rectangle, fold it in half, then pat it out again. Repeat once more for light layers, handling the dough as little as possible. Cut out 4 biscuits with a 5-6 cm cutter or divide into 4 squares. Place on the tray so the sides just touch for a better rise.

4. 4

   Bake for 12-14 minutes until well risen and golden on top. If desired, leave them 2 minutes longer for deeper colour.

5. 5

   While the biscuits bake, place the pork breakfast sausage in a frying pan over medium heat. Break it up with a spoon and cook for 5-6 minutes until browned and no pink remains. If the sausage is very lean, add the unsalted butter once it starts cooking; if it releases plenty of fat, the butter simply enriches the gravy.

6. 6

   Sprinkle the plain flour over the browned sausage and stir continuously for 1 minute so the flour loses its raw taste and coats the meat evenly.

7. 7

   Gradually pour in the whole milk, stirring or whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add the double cream, freshly ground black pepper, and fine salt. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until the gravy is thick enough to coat a spoon but still pourable; it will continue to thicken slightly off the heat.

8. 8

   Split the hot biscuits in half and spoon the sausage gravy generously over the top. Serve immediately while the biscuits are fluffy and the gravy is hot.

Nutrition per serving

Notes

• •Keep the butter and buttermilk cold for the best biscuit texture.
• •Do not overmix the biscuit dough, or the biscuits can turn dense and tough.
• •If the gravy thickens too much, loosen it with a splash of milk before serving.
• •Serve with hot sauce or a few extra grinds of black pepper if you like a sharper finish.

Background