Buttermilk Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

Ingredients

• 2½ cups All-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp Baking powder
• ½ tsp Baking soda
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tbsp Granulated sugar
• 8 tbsp Very cold unsalted butter
• 1 cup Cold buttermilk
• 2 tbsp Melted butter, for brushing
• 1 lb Breakfast sausage
• ¼ cup All-purpose flour
• 3 cups Whole milk
• ½ tsp Kosher salt
• 1½ tsp Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp Butter (only if sausage is unusually lean)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F / 232°C.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
3. Grate very cold butter into the flour mixture (or cut it in). Toss until coated.
4. Add cold buttermilk. Stir only until a shaggy dough forms — do not overmix.
5. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.
6. Pat into a rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds.
7. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat the fold. Do this 2 more times total (3 folding sequences) to create flaky layers.
8. Pat dough to ¾–1 inch thick.
9. Cut straight down with a floured biscuit cutter. Do NOT twist the cutter — twisting seals the edges and prevents rising.
10. Arrange biscuits so their sides nearly touch on the sheet pan (this helps them rise taller).
11. Bake 12–15 minutes until tall and golden.
12. Brush immediately with melted butter.
13. Make the gravy: Brown breakfast sausage in a large skillet, breaking it into small crumbles.
14. Keep the rendered fat in the pan. If the sausage produced very little fat, add 1 tablespoon butter.
15. Sprinkle flour over the sausage. Cook 1–2 minutes to form a roux.
16. Slowly stir in whole milk, whisking to prevent lumps.
17. Simmer gently 5–7 minutes until creamy and thickened.
18. Season with salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and optional cayenne.
19. Split warm biscuits. Spoon sausage gravy over generously and serve.

Nutrition

Chef's Notes

Why didn't my biscuits rise? Common causes: (1) twisting the cutter, which seals the edges; (2) old baking powder; (3) warm butter or buttermilk — both must be very cold; (4) overworking the dough. Why shouldn't I twist the cutter? Twisting presses the layers together and seals the edges, preventing the butter from creating steam pockets that make biscuits rise tall. Storage: Store biscuits and gravy separately. Biscuits are best fresh but can be reheated in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes. Gravy can be refrigerated up to 3 days — reheat gently on the stovetop.

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