Foodie Fridays - Southern Sausage Gravy

Happy Friday my lovelies!  It's all rain and gloom here so I thought I would post something that's wonderful for a Saturday or Sunday morning when you're stuck inside and want a quick treat - good old biscuits and sausage gravy.  In my family we call this white gravy sawmill gravy.  My great grandmother's father actually ran a sawmill and when her mother died my MaPep took over feeding all the sawmill hands.  This was back in the 1920's before the depression and being far from well-to-do she learned quick to feed a lot of people with just a little.  With just a few simple ingredients you can make enough gravy to feed an army and then some.  It's the epitome of rural Southern "making do."  Now, if you want, you can make the gravy with just the sausage drippings and have the sausage on the side buy why would you want to?  This is really more of a technique recipe so I estimated the proportions as best I could as I was going along.  Also, some people like their gravy thick, some like it thinner so the amount of milk and water you add is really up to you.  If you make this let me know what you think!  Off we go then....

Southern Sausage Gravy

1 lb package of sausage (use your favorite kind! Hot or mild it doesn't matter)
2 Tablespoons flour (self rising or all purpose whatever you have in the house)
1 1/2 cup of milk 
1 1/2 cup of water (you might use all of this, you might use less, you might use more)
salt and pepper to taste

Start by cooking your sausage in a heavy bottom skillet.  

Cook through until no pink remains.  

Remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel lined plate leaving as much of the sausage drippings in the pan as you can.  

Doesn't look like much does it?  Just hang in there.    

Into that hot grease sprinkle two tablespoons of flour and whisk around incorporating the oil and flour well.  You basically want an equal amount of flour to fat.  Cook for just a minute or so but do not let the flour brown, we're not making a roux.

Time for the milk!  Lower the heat, slowly pour in the milk, and continue to whisk as you go.  It's going to bubble up and look like glue.  Have faith!  It's going to look terrible before it looks delicious. 

See, it's looks like a sticky, yucky mess.  It's OK! Don't fret, grab your water.  Slowly pour in the water a 1/2 a cup or so at a time until you get your desired consistency. 

There, that's better!  Looks more like gravy doesn't it?  Season with salt and pepper (lots of pepper) and whisk well.  At this point you have sawmill gravy.  You can serve this over biscuits, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, rice, etc.  Health food this is not.  Today though, were're not stopping here.  Add in your sausage and you're done. Sausage gravy!  

You can keep this warm over a very low heat and if it starts to thicken up just add a little more water and stir well.  

All you need now is some of these.  

And you're ready for breakfast!  

Enjoy and have a great weekend everyone!