Southern Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

¾-1lb sausage

3-3.5 cups milk

Salt (1 to 2 teaspoons)

Pepper (1 to 2 teaspoons)

¼ cup all purpose flour (or 4 tablespoons)

1 tablespoon butter (may or may not require this)

Directions:

1 – Heat skillet/sauté pan over medium – medium high (depending on your stove)

2 - Brown sausage. I used a 12” sauté / skillet to brown the sausage.

Brown sausage in skillet

I used a good quality sausage. This happens to be sausage made by a local store, Cedar Lodge. I really like their sausage.

3 – When the sausage is brown, lower heat to medium.

4 – Add flour. I add a tablespoon at a time. Four tablespoons equal ¼ cup flour. This will make your roux (pronounced rue). This will be your thickening agent to get the gravy thick and creamy. You want to add just enough flour that it absorbs all grease in the pan. Note because the sausage I had did not render much fat, I added a tablespoon of butter to help. A rule of thumb that will help is for each tablespoon of fat/drippings you can add one tablespoon of flour. Once you make enough you will know by the look.

Adding flour to the sausage (with rendered fat). The objective is to absorb the fat with the flour. Be careful to not add to much flour. Add 1 teaspoon at a time.

Here is where I had to add some butter to increase the fat. The sausage used was very lean and did not render much.

5 – Cook you roux for about 5 minutes over medium heat. This is a critical step as this cooks the flour taste out. Raw tasting gravy is not good.

Here is the meat with flour included. Notice no fat is shown. Be sure to cook this mixture about 5 minutes to "cook" the flour. Essentially the flour taste will not be relevant. If not cooked thoroughly the gravy will have a flour taste.

6 – Add about half your milk mixture first. Stir around getting all the clumps that will form out. Stir well to smooth consistency.