Whip It Up Week 3: Regional Favorites

Most of y’all should know that I am a Southern girl, through and through. But since both my parents are from “up North” (as they say down here), I never learned how to make a lot of typical Southern recipes.

So for this week’s challenge, I decided to take on one of my breakfast favorites: Biscuits and white sausage gravy.

Mmmm.

Yes, it’s horribly unhealthy. Yes, I could have made something that was more Southern. Yes, I know probably none of y’all will make this. But this breakfast is one of my favorites because it’s so tasty, calories be damned.

So let’s get this thing started!

Buttermilk Biscuits (from Vernalisa’s Party Page)
2 C all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/3 C shortening
2/3 C buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450. Mix flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, then add shortening and buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Stir until dough just holds together. Knead until dough is smooth. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness, and cut into rounds. Bake for 12 minutes (I only cooked mine for 10.)

White Sausage Gravy (from the Food Network Kitchens)
One 12-ounce tube pork sausage (I used reduced fat)
2 t all-purpose flour
2 C milk
Freshly ground pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes.

Transfer the sausage to a bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the skillet. (There was NO rendered fat from my reduced fat sausage, so I added a little bit of canola oil to the pan.) Whisk the flour into the fat and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. While whisking, pour the milk into the skillet and bring the gravy to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Stir in the sausage and season with pepper. Split the biscuits in half and divide them among plates. Top each biscuit gravy and serve immediately.

Was the recipe easy to follow?
Definitely.

Did the dish taste good?
Yes! The biscuits were probably the best biscuits I have had in a LONG time, so that’s awesome. The gravy, while good, wasn’t nearly as heavenly as some I had in the past. I think the reduced fat sausage was a mistake, even though it made me feel a little better about eating the breakfast.

Would you make it again?
Definitely. I wouldn’t use the reduced fat sausage again, but I think, overall, the recipe was a success. And I’m eating the leftovers this morning for my breakfast.

Y’all want to see the final result?

While it might not look appetizing, trust me, It’s delish.