(calm music)
- [Babish] All right, so let's start off
with a super simple biscuits and gravy
and when I say simple, I mean you can make the whole thing
front to back in less than 30 minutes.
For the biscuits, we're making cream biscuits
which means combining two cups of all-purpose flour,
one tablespoon baking powder, half teaspoon baking soda
and a half teaspoon kosher salt.
Thoroughly tiny whisking to ensure homogeneity
before adding the sole liquid ingredient,
one and a half cups of heavy cream
then we're gonna give this mixture a gentle
but thorough paddling.
We wanna make sure that everything's evenly combined
but we don't wanna overmix
which will result in gluten development
which will result in tough biscuits.
At some point, your rubber spatula is gonna become useless
and you're gonna wanna knead this by hand
for about a minute
just until you have a smooth ball of dough
and no dry patches remain then no lazing about.
This guy's immediately getting rolled out
on a generously floured work surface.
You can make them on the thicker or thinner side
but generally, we're shooting for a thickness
of about half to a quarter inch.
Well, look at that, mine rolled out into a heart
which fun fact is where your biscuits and gravy ends up.
Anyway, we are utilizing an fluted biscuit cutter
to cut ourselves some two and a half inch fluted biscuits
spaciously arranging them on a parchment lined baking sheet
as we go then we're popping these
into a preheated 375 degree Fahrenheit oven
for 15 to 20 minutes removing once doubled in height,
golden brown and ready to be brushed down with butter.
I'm also gonna sprinkle these with some flaky finishing salt
for a nice added salty crunch and there you have it,
the easiest biscuits in the world
and now for the easiest sausage gravy in the world.
We're squeezing about a half a pound
of breakfast sausage out of their casings
and into a preheated high walled saucepan
breaking up as we brown them,
utilizing a potato masher if we gotta
and once browned and cooked through,
it's time to make our gravy.
Your breakfast sausage might have given up some fat
but it ain't enough.
I'm adding one tablespoon of butter.
You might need more or less
but you're shooting for about two tablespoons
worth of fat in the pan,
the counterpart to the two tablespoons of flour
that we're gonna sprinkle over everything.
Mix that around and cook it over medium heat
for about one minute until it forms a blonde pasty roux
that we're gonna use to thicken one cup of milk.
Whisk constantly and add in little splash at a time
waiting until the mixture is smooth before adding any more.
This is going to prevent a lumpy gravy.
Once all the milk is added, we're bringing to a simmer
and cooking for two to three minutes
over medium low heat
until the desired thick gravy like consistency is achieved.
We're seasoning to taste with kosher salt
and freshly ground pepper.
I say to taste because who knows how salty
or peppery your breakfast sausage is
then we're grabbing our still toasty warm biscuits,
stacking 'em up on a plate
and smothering them in our steaming hot sausage gravy
and there you have it, friends,
the easiest biscuits and gravy in the world.
So easy that you could make 'em in half an hour
first thing in the morning before you've had your coffee
with a hangover but it doesn't taste quick.
It tastes very, very homemade, about as good, if not better
than anything you could get at your local greasy spoon.
I would induct it into the clean plate club
but I'm trying to save room for our next batch,
the advanced version
that starts with making our own breakfast sausage.
I wish that there was a YouTube channel
with a guy that makes sausage
out of anything and everything.
Maybe with a mustache and a voice like Peter Griffin
but sadly, no such YouTube channel exists.
Anywho, for our breakfast sausage,
we've got three pounds of fatty pork butt
which we're gonna trim and cut into one inch cubes
and then to bring some smoky bacon flavor,
how about some bacon?
I got one pound of the real thick cut stuff here
that I'm likewise going to slice into one inch pieces
then I'm gonna toss everybody together
sort of like a pork salad
and start spacing everybody out evenly
on a parchment lined baking sheet.
We don't want them to be touching too much
or to be too crowded
so why don't we make it two parchment lined baking sheets
which is headed into the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes
or until firm around the edges.
This is gonna make the meat easier to grind
as will a fully frozen meat grinder.
Keep all your metal parts stowed in the deep freeze
for at least 30 minutes before commencing to grinding.
I'm using a relatively coarse grinding plate
because I want a sausage with a little bit of texture to it.
Once everything is assembled and functioning
according to manufacturer specifications,
it's time to grind.
You wanna try to be putting a consistent amount of bacon in
with the cubed pork.
This will ensure that it is evenly distributed
throughout the sausage.
Now, I made this huge recipe
because breakfast sausage freezes very well
but for all the seasonings,
I'm gonna describe them to you per pound of pork.
So if you just wanna go to the grocery store
and grab a pound of ground pork,
you can do that and it'll work just fine.
So I got all the ground pork spread out
on a rimmed baking sheet and now per pound of meat,
I'm going to add one and a half teaspoons fresh sage,
one teaspoon fresh rosemary, one teaspoon fresh thyme,
one teaspoon light brown sugar,
one quarter teaspoon garlic powder,
an optional quarter teaspoon red pepper flake,
one eighth of a teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg,
one quarter teaspoon ground fennel, one teaspoon kosher salt
and three quarters of a teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
sprinkled as evenly as possible over the meats
and then using gloved hands, mixing until homogenous.
Now, I am making a huge batch here
but raw breakfast sausage does freeze beautifully
thus simplifying future batches of biscuits and gravy
should the mood strike you
but before we make any kinda anything,
we need to test the sausage
to make sure that it's well seasoned.
As you can see, I'm putting way too much care
into pressing out a patty for some reason
which I'm gonna fry up with a little bit of butter
so I can taste the sausage
and make sure that everything's up to spec.
Might as we'll go ahead and plate it up nice
and tuck a napkin in under our chin.
This is after all no ordinary sausage
and give it a taste just to make sure the getting's good
and if it's not, this is your chance to add more salt
or herbs or whatever the sausage needs
and once your sausage needs are met,
it's time to make biscuits,
the best biscuits ever courtesy of America's Test Kitchen.
In a large bowl, we are combining 15 ounces of flour,
two tablespoons of sugar, four teaspoons baking powder,
half teaspoon baking soda
and one and a half teaspoons kosher salt.
Give them a tiny whisking until they are homogenous
and then from the freezer, we are retrieving two sticks
or eight ounces of fully frozen butter
which we're gonna grate into the dry ingredients
by virtue of the large holes of a cheese grater.
Give that a little toss preferably with gloves on
so you don't melt the butter
to make sure that every piece is coated in flour
and that it's evenly distributed throughout
before making a little well
and adding one and a quarter cups of cold buttermilk
then using a rubber spatula, we're mixing everybody together
until it just kinda comes together
into a shaggy ball of dough
which we're gonna turn out onto a generously floured
work surface and begin the process of lamination.
That is stretching and folding
all the little pieces of butter
creating the desirable flaky layers in our biscuits.
Generously flouring everything,
we are gently rolling this out to a rectangle
about 12 by nine inches
then using a bench scraper, we are folding it into thirds
like a letter or informational pamphlet
then we're re-flouring our work surface
rotating the dough 90 degrees and doing it all over again,
a grand total of five times.
Not only is this gonna create
all those wonderful layers of butter,
it's gonna turn our dough into a soft, pliable,
workable pastry dough which after its final fold,
we're gonna pat into a rectangle
wrap tightly in plastic wrap
and fridge for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
Side note, you can absolutely make this recipe
in a food processor.
Just process together all the dry stuff
and use the shredding plate
to quickly and conveniently dispense with your butter.
From there, it's the exact same procedure
and the exact same outcome,
the best damn biscuits I've ever had
but the next step is crucial
if you want them to turn out right.
As they say, sharp edges make for sharp biscuits.
After this guy's stint in the fridge,
he's being generously floured
and rolled out into a rectangle about 10 by six inches
which and this is the important part,
we're gonna use our sharpest blade to make clean cuts
first trimming off the edges
and then cutting into six individual biscuits.
Any pinching or crappy cutting
and your biscuits won't rise as well or as evenly.
So don't pick 'em up with your grubby fingers.
Use a spatula or a bench scraper
to make sure that you don't pinch the edges
then these guys are all getting
a thorough pre-baked brushing of melted butter
and a sprinkling of finishing salt
before placing into a preheated 400 degree Fahrenheit oven
for 20 to 25 minutes until doubled in height,
golden brown and triumphant
then we're letting these guys cool off slightly
while we make our sausage gravy.
Into the same large saucepan
goes about a pound of our homemade sausage
which we're gonna cook and mash over medium high heat
until it's lightly browned and cooked through
then we're lowering the heat
and adding an optional tablespoon of freshly chopped sage,
butter if necessary and the usual two tablespoons of flour
to make our pasty roux then same procedure as before.
Cook it for about a minute
before slowly adding one cup of milk.
Adding in little splashes and whisking constantly
so as to prevent lumps
and then cooking for two to three minutes
until the desired consistency is achieved.
Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
and I like to add just a little freshly grated nutmeg.
It always plays nice in a white sauce,
not to mention with pork and fresh herbs.
Once that's all done and seasoned to your liking,
it's time to serve.
You can just pour this straight over your biscuit
but I kinda like to break mine in half
like a Pillsbury Grand.
Pile the sausage gravy high on the bottom half
and top it with the top half
almost like a hilarious sandwich
that can only be eaten with a fork and knife
and to that end, let's dig in
and I know that this is a very complicated iteration
of what is normally a very simple recipe
but your effort will pay dividends.
It's spicy, it's herby, it's smoky, it's porky.
The biscuit is rich and flaky
and come on, clean play club for sure.
I'm glad I saved room.
(calm music)