Homemade Southern Sausage Gravy

Ever craved your grandmother’s southern cooking, but you never got her secret recipe? I remember as a child, my grandmother would cook us breakfast almost every morning before school. Sometimes it was cream of wheat, sometimes it was eggs, rice and bacon, and sometimes it was biscuits and gravy. Those homemade biscuits and gravy stuck with me because I considered it an art to make homemade southern sausage gravy. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my grandmother, breakfast was not usually one of those times (I mean a girl has to get her beauty rest). Therefore, I missed out on how she would make the homemade southern sausage gravy for the biscuits and gravy.
Gravy can be finicky, it can be too thin, too thick, too lumpy so it’s no wonder why I never really tried my hand at it. For many years, I relied on McCormicks gravy packets for my gravy. I won’t sit here and pretend that those McCormicks gravy packages aren’t lifesavers.
In life, there are certain foods that hold distinct and nostalgic memories, biscuits and gravy is one of those foods.

Learning to make biscuits and gravy

I remember the first time I learned how to make biscuits and gravy. My junior year in high school I chose a cooking class as one of my electives. I thoroughly enjoyed home economics in junior high school and I thoroughly enjoyed cooking so this class was my favorite. Our assignment must have been making breakfast because that only makes logical sense. Anyways, I distinctly remember our teacher telling us to make sure we scraped up all of the little sausage bits that were stuck to the pan. She informed us that is how you get the most flavor for your gravy. That little tip holds true to this day.
For some reason in my mind, this lesson coincides with 9/11. I was for sure in that classroom when 9/11 happened. I feel like it was in the midst of biscuits and gravy lesson when our classroom TVs came on to broadcast the towers falling; my teacher fell in sync as she collapsed into a chair overwhelmed by the tragic even unfolding before all of our eyes. Memories…sometimes food holds distinct memories.

Biscuits and Gravy was life

When I joined the military I was a whopping 117 pounds, by military BMI standards I was underweight. At first I took offense to being considered underweight but it definitely had it privileges. As part of their weight gaining program, I was allowed to be the first to go in, last to come out and I was able to eat whatever I wanted. My fellow vets know just how precious that time is. You literally get about 3-4 minutes to eat before you are yelled at to get up and move along.
I made a plan to ensure I got enough food to last me until my next meal. I mean it was the middle of summer in Texas, you really wanted to try and get as much food in you as possible. What did I do? I grabbed what I knew first…biscuits and gravy. In less than two minutes I would cut my biscuits and gravy into four sections and eat it in four bites. Next, I would move on to my sausage, pancakes, and whatever else I piled on my tray. Those biscuits and gravy got me through basic training (and I gained 8lbs). Memories…sometimes food holds nostalgic memories.

Gravy and Biscuits and more gravy.

There are countless times, that I have eaten biscuits and gravy throughout my life but I can probably count one hand the times, I’ve attempted to make it myself. The first two times, I used package gravy, you know because that’s safe and you can’t mess that up. Last time I made it from scratch and it was surprisingly good, but in typical fashion I didn’t bother to write down my recipe. And now here I am, typing this up as a fellow food blogger put out a call for a southern sausage gravy recipe. Her call turned into a craving that I was forced to act upon.

 
 
I whipped up my version of homemade southern sausage gravy and it was a hit with my family. It was a nice reminder that sometimes you need a good ol’ stick to your bones, warm your soul, finger licking good southern breakfast. My heart was warmed and it made me smile to see my toddlers with gravy all over their happy faces, asking for seconds. It had been a long time since my family has had one of those and I plan to create more memories, because well you know food holds memories. I hope you enjoy this recipe and it reminds you a little bit of grandma’s southern cooking.
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