gravy Archives ⋆ REVERIES & RECIPES

Biscuits and Gravy

I may be a native New Yorker but I’ve always loved Southern food. I got this recipe in the New York Daily News. Even if you don’t want the sausage gravy, it’s still a great biscuit recipe.

For the Biscuits –

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour
2 tbsps. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
4 ozs. butter
1 cup buttermilk
Melted butter

Pre-heat the oven to 425^o.

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Grate in the butter into the bowl and blend. Add the buttermilk and stir until it comes together like a rough dough. Sprinkle some flour on your counter and knead the dough by folding it in half a few times. No need to over do it.

Roll out the dough into a one-inch layer. Use a biscuit cutter (I use a glass) to cut 2 to 3 inch diameter biscuits. You should get about 12. Put the cut outs on a buttered baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with melted butter and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

For the Gravy –

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. oil
1 lb. pork breakfast meat (or remove sausage casings)
4 tbsps. butter
½ cup flour
3 – 4 cups chicken broth or stock.
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and black pepper (easy on the salt if the broth is salty)

Brown the sausage meat in the oil in a frying pan. Remove the meat leaving the oil and some brown bits. At medium heat, add the butter and when it melts and stops foaming quickly stir in the flour. Don’t let it brown. This is a light-colored gravy.

Raise the heat and whisk in the chicken broth. When it thickens and becomes smooth, return the cooked sausage meat to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Heat the cream, add it to the pan and mix. Taste for seasoning. Serve it hot, spooned over the split biscuits.

The biscuits are pretty good with butter and preserves too.

Click here for updated GALLERY III

Portfolio and Yelp

Sauce vs. Gravy

It’s an argument that will probably go on forever among Italian-Americans. Is it sauce or gravy? Most non-Italians couldn’t care less and it doesn’t really bother me but I’m going to add my opinion anyway.

In any dictionary, gravy and sauce have almost identical definitions although it seems that to be called “gravy” there must be some meat, or meat juices or drippings involved.

In Italian, there’s sugo (thin sauce/gravy made with meat) and ragu (thick sauce/gravy made with meat). Then there’s salsa, not made with meat and which I would translate as sauce.

When people think of gravy it’s usually brown and often made with meat drippings and a bit of flour to thicken it. Well, why can’t it be red and made with meat drippings and tomatoes instead of flour?

When my mother had a pot of bubbling tomatoes on the stove filled with meatballs, braciole, and sausage she called it “gravy.” When she made marinara, that’s tomatoes with no meat, it was “sauce.”

So that’s my take on the unending sauce-gravy argument. And here’s a recipe for a ragu. You can call it what you like.

Pork Ragu

*Italian trinity

Sweat one cup of trinity in oil and then add and lightly brown the pork. Add the crushed tomatoes and sachet. Simmer for at least one hour.

Put on a pot of water for the pasta. Add the peas to the tomatoes and pork and simmer for another 10 minutes while the pasta is cooking. Taste for seasoning.

When the pasta is almost done drain and add it to the ragu to finish cooking. If it’s too dry add some pasta water. Serve with grated cheese.

Sunday Gravy

There are a lot of variations for this one – but always meat and tomatoes. Here’s a simple, basic recipe which you can vary.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Sausage – hot or sweet
Oxtails
Dried sausage or soprasade
Garlic (2 chopped cloves)
Crushed tomatoes
Salt and black pepper

Brown the sausage and oxtails in oil. Do it in batches and don’t crowd the pan. Remove and add the dried sausage and garlic. Don’t burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower heat, taste for seasoning and simmer for at least one hour.

Click here for updated GALLERY II

Portfolio and Yelp

Biscuits and Gravy

I may be a native New Yorker but I’ve always loved Southern food. I got this recipe in the New York Daily News. Even if you don’t want the sausage gravy, it’s still a great biscuit recipe.

For the Biscuits –

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups flour

2 tbsps. baking powder

1 tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. salt

4 ozs. butter

1 cup buttermilk

Melted butter

Pre-heat the oven to 425o.

Mix the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Grate in the butter into the bowl and blend. Add the buttermilk and stir until it comes together like a rough dough. Sprinkle some flour on your counter and knead the dough by folding it in half a few times. No need to over do it.

Roll out the dough into a one-inch layer. Use a biscuit cutter (I use a glass) to cut 2 to 3 inch diameter biscuits. You should get about 12. Put the cut outs on a buttered baking sheet. Brush the tops of each with melted butter and bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

For the Gravy –

Ingredients:

2 tbsps. oil

1 lb. pork breakfast meat (or remove sausage casings)

4 tbsps. butter

½ cup flour

3 – 4 cups chicken broth or stock.

½ cup heavy cream

Salt and black pepper (easy on the salt if the broth is salty)

Brown the sausage meat in the oil in a frying pan. Remove the meat leaving the oil and some brown bits. At medium heat, add the butter and when it melts and stops foaming quickly stir in the flour. Don’t let it brown. This is a light-colored gravy.

Raise the heat and whisk in the chicken broth. When it thickens and becomes smooth, return the cooked sausage meat to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Heat the cream, add it to the pan and mix. Taste for seasoning. Serve it hot, spooned over the split biscuits.

Sauce vs. Gravy

It’s an argument that will probably go on forever among Italian-Americans. Is it sauce or gravy? Most non-Italians couldn’t care less and it doesn’t really bother me but I’m going to add my opinion anyway.

In any dictionary, gravy and sauce have almost identical definitions although it seems that to be called “gravy” there must be some meat, or meat juices or drippings involved.

In Italian, there’s sugo (thin sauce/gravy made with meat) and ragu (thick sauce/gravy made with meat). Then there’s salsa, not made with meat and which I would translate as sauce.

When people think of gravy it’s usually brown and often made with meat drippings and a bit of flour to thicken it. Well, why can’t it be red and made with meat drippings and tomatoes instead of flour?

When my mother had a pot of bubbling tomatoes on the stove filled with meatballs, braciole, and sausage she called it “gravy.” When she made marinara, that’s tomatoes with no meat, it was “sauce.”

So that’s my take on the unending sauce-gravy argument. And here’s a recipe for a ragu. You can call it what you like.

Pork Ragu

Sweat one cup of trinity in oil and then add and lightly brown the pork. Add the crushed tomatoes and sachet. Simmer for at least one hour.

Put on a pot of water for the pasta. Add the peas to the tomatoes and pork and simmer for another 10 minutes while the pasta is cooking. Taste for seasoning.

When the pasta is almost done drain and add it to the ragu to finish cooking. If it’s too dry add some pasta water. Serve with grated cheese.

Sunday Gravy

There are a lot of variations for this one – but always meat and tomatoes. Here’s a simple, basic recipe which you can vary.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Sausage – hot or sweet

Oxtails

Dried sausage or soprasade

Garlic (2 chopped cloves)

Crushed tomatoes

Salt and black pepper

Brown the sausage and oxtails in oil. Do it in batches and don’t crowd the pan. Remove and add the dried sausage and garlic. Don’t burn the garlic. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower heat, taste for seasoning and simmer for at least one hour.

Reveries and Recipes

Pre-heat the oven to 425^o.