Seriously, I have nooo idea how to take a decent photo of sausage gravy & biscuits. This is the best I could do. Honestly, it doesn't look attractive BUT the attraction for me is in the homey, warm, flavor and texture explosion that occurs bite after bite after bite!
Years and years ago I spent a week in Kentucky visiting friends. On my last full day there we went out to breakfast at a small home like cafe that had a buffet set up. I had never laid eyes on sausage gravy & biscuits before and was intrigued when I saw it. Well, all I can say is thank goodness I was going home they next day or I may have eaten myself into a food coma.
I have thought about that one dish about a thousand times since then.
2 weeks ago my husband and I spent a fun 24 hours in Philadelphia with 4 other couples. The little getaway started out as my husband and I going to The Home Show for kitchen renovation ideas, then dinner...a full day date. Then another couple joined us, then it became 5 couples!!
It was a much needed and enjoyed adult getaway for all of us. We hit a few bars early Saturday and had late dinner reservations at DelFrisco's (where we had an awesome time)!! The cocktails and the food were spot on, we got to meet the chef and he sent us some beautiful appetizers. It was a good night! We SO will be going back to DelFriscos someday soon!
The next morning just my husband and I headed out to The Standard Tap in the Northern Liberties, which is widley considered to be America's first gastropub. Guess what was on the menu that day?? Yup! Sausage Gravy and Biscuits. So we ordered it as our "appetizer".
Needless to say, I never took one bite of my burger...not one!
It came out with 2 beautiful fried eggs overtop...oh my gosh did that put it over the top! As we cut into the picture perfect eggs, the yolks mingled with the gravy and the biscuits..so good!!. A truly memorable meal.
While there I was tweeting that we were eating an incredible dish when I read something interesting. Just the day before the place was shut down for half the day because none other that Guy Fieri was there shooting an episode for one of his shows. I asked our waitress about it...I think she went into shock, she just stared at me and said "I am not allowed to talk about it". I said "oh no problem at all, I totally get it. I was just curious to know what he ate". I guess I will be wondering that until the show airs, she did say he was coming back that Tuesday to finish up. Kinda cool!!
This was my attempt at recreating that dish and I kid you not...my husband said he liked my take on it even better. I guess THAT his love for me talking and that makes me happy, lol! Love you babe!
*When it comes to the biscuit part of this hearty breakfast, some of you are happy using purchased canned biscuits and some of you have an incredible family recipe you swear by. It's your call.
Here are 2 biscuit recipes to try if you have never made them from scratch. From Alton Brown or from My Recipes, all three look good to me!
Sausage Gravy with Biscuits and Fried Eggs
12 oz of bulk sausage (no casings)
¼ cup flour
2 ½ cups milk
Tabasco or red pepper to taste
Salt & pepper to taste
1-2 fried eggs per person
Sautee your sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until it is browned and cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage from your pan, allowing the rendered fat to remain. Depending on how lean your sausage is, you may or may not have much fat in your pan. Feel free to add a ½ TBS butter to your pan if you feel you need a bit more fat. Add your flour to the pan and whisk it hard, scraping up any pan bits and getting it incorporated with the fat. Slowly add in your milk, whisking constantly until it comes together. Add in a good dose of salt, pepper and Tabasco, tasting as you go. Adjust your heat to low and allow the gravy to simmer for 2-3 minutes or until it reaches the thickness you desire. (You can always add a bit more milk to thin it out if you like.)
Set your gravy aside and fry up your eggs. To me, the key to this over-the-top-breakfast, is the beautiful yolk(s) running through the sausage gravy and biscuits. To achieve that my method is as follows: Start with the best eggs you can get your hands on, spray your pan with Pam and allow it to heat up a bit over meduim heat. Fry the eggs with a sprinkle of salt & pepper over medium heat until most of the whites are cooked through. Then place the pan in a 300 degree oven, and let the top part of the egg white near the yolk, finish cooking 1-2 minutes. That way I get beautiful bright yolks and cooked through whites. Yum-yum-yum!
Heat the gravy through again if necessary, place a bit of the gravy on your plate, then 1-2 biscuits, cover they biscuits with the gravy and gently slide your perfectly cooked egg overtop and dig in!
Gravy recipe adapted from The Food Network
Enjoy!!
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