Sausage Gravy Archives - Poor Man's Gourmet Kitchen

Breakfast Sausage

Great Breakfast Sausage

Making sausage is a fun traditional art that dates back to the Sumerians, in 3100 B.C. and is now cherished all over the world with different recipes. Today, I’m sharing an American style Breakfast Sausage that has been popularized by companies like Johnsonville or even the late famous country singer, Jimmy Dean.

This sweet and savory sausage has become an American staple that is served many different ways; links, patties or even cooked up ground and added to eggs with cheese or most widely known, probably, in sausage gravy, served over Buttermilk Biscuits and/or a Chicken Fried Steak.

Today’s recipe is all about the ingredients and how to get the best flavor and texture out of a breakfast sausage. So, I’ve listed all of the ingredients down below, along with my recommendations and a “how to” video tutorial. There are a few “optional” ingredients, like pink curing salt and msg, but if one comes out it should be replaced with an equal amount of salt in it’s place. The pink salt should only be added if you’re planning on smoking the sausage. MSG, obviously intensifies the flavor of the sausage and is an active ingredient in store bought sausages.

I didn’t add powdered skim milk to my sausage in the video but I have it listed in the ingredients for this recipe. It should be added if you want to retain more moisture and add the proper sausage texture that we’ve all come to expect in cooked or smoked sausage. Questions can always be asked in the comments.

Breakfast Sausage Ingredients: Makes 4 lbs

3 lbs Ground Pork, Dark Meat 70% to 75%
1 lbs Pork Fat, 25% to 30%

1/4 cup Brown sugar, light brown
1 tsp Curing Salt, replace with table salt if not using
3 tsp Salt
2 tsp Parsley
1 tsp Sage
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Red Pepper, crushed
1 tsp Coriander, ground
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Ground Clove

1 tsp MSG, optional but is used in most sausages to enhance flavor

Makes about 1/2 cup of seasoning.

BINDER
1/2 cup Dehydrated Skim Milk Powder, for moisture and texture
1/4 cup Vinegar
2 tbsp Dark Corn Syrup, Malasses flavored

Maybe 1/2 cup Lard if the fat content is low.
30% fat to 70% meat ratio is standard.

Approximately 2 tbsp of seasoning per 1 lb. of meat.

Buttermilk Biscuits

The Best Buttermilk Biscuits

From Sausage and Gravy to KFC, Buttermilk Biscuits have become an American staple and if you’re looking for a great recipe, you’ve come to the right place. These biscuits turn out exactly the way you want them and, believe it or not, they’re very easy to make. You just have to understand a few basic tricks and your biscuits will turn out perfect, first try.

Partially eaten plate of Biscuits and Sausage Gravy.

The Trick to Fluffy Flaky Biscuits

The secret to Buttermilk Biscuits is in the dough. This recipe doesn’t have many ingredients so, it’s not really about what goes into the dough as much as how the dough is mixed.

From the very start, you need to mix all of the dry ingredients first. Then add cold butter, preferably frozen, and it needs to be grated or shredded in a food processor with all of the dry ingredients. If you’re familiar with apple pie crusts or pastry dough recipes, the technique is very similar(This allows the dough to puff up into flaky layers once the dough is pressed and folded).

Afterwards, the wet ingredients, buttermilk and honey can be mixed in but, be careful not to over mix. In fact, as I show you in the video tutorial, its important to only combine the ingredients into one mass rather than really “mix” the dough, then press it flat and begin to fold and roll as instructed.

The biscuit cutting is important as well. Instead of twisting the cutter through the dough, just press firmly with a wiggle. Twisting tends to keep the dough from separating and rising with flaky layers. Trust me, you don’t want to end up with hard baked hockey pucks.

This recipe makes approximately 16 biscuits about 2 1/2″ wide and 1 1/4″ thick.

Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits video tutorial by PoorMansGourmet.

Buttermilk Biscuits Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Flour
1 cube Butter, 1/2 cup
1 1/4 cup Buttermilk
2 tbsp Baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey

Bake at 425° Fahrenheit for 15 minutes

Be sure to watch the short video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make the best fresh Buttermilk Biscuits.

Grilled Cheese with an Egg in the Basket

Grilled Cheese and a what?

I said, a Grilled Cheese sandwich with an Egg in the Basket. It’s not that complicated is it? It’s two of my favorite comfort foods molded into one delicious sandwich, and it’s got Brunch written all over it! I suppose there are probably recipes for each of these all over the web these days because they’re both really popular items and they’re both very easy to prepare, but can you do both at the same time in the same recipe? You’ll be able to after you watch this little step by step tutorial, I promise you. Especially once you realize that this Brunch sandwich is smothered with a sausage country gravy!

Grilled Cheese with an Egg in a Basket Ingredients:

2 pieces of Bread
2 tbsp Butter
1 egg
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese

Butter only one peice of bread. Cookie cut the other for the egg in a basket. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a hot pan over medium and place the cookie cut slice in the pan, then crack one egg in the middle and add salt and pepper. After one minute, flip the bread over to the other side, using a spatula, and cover the top with cheese immediately. Then place the other piece of bread on top and wait 1 minute to flip the whole sandwich over, to cook the other side. Once you’ve flipped the Grilled Cheese Sandwich over, the Egg in a Basket side will be facing up. Cook for another minute then plate. I like to serve my Grilled Cheese with an Egg in a Basket, with sausage or country gravy!