Holiday-Style Biscuits & Gravy

Recipe Adapted from Bake From Scratch & a Previous recipe on Cooking is My Sport

Ingredients

For Biscuits

• 2 1/2 cups unsalted butter, frozen
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh packed sage leaves
• 7 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons ground sage
• 3/4 cup-1 cup dried cranberries (depending upon your preference for sweetness in the biscuits)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups whole buttermilk (plus more if needed)
• flaked sea salt, to taste

For Sausage Gravy

• 1 cup flour
• 6 cups of milk
• 3 cups water
• 2 lbs ground pork sausage
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• salt (if needed, see note)
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 bay leaf

Directions

For Biscuits:

Brown the butter: In a light-colored medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add sage, and cook, stirring frequently, until milk solids at bottom have turned a deep amber color and butter is fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour into a shallow heatproof baking dish, and freeze until solid, at least 30 minutes.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, garlic powder, ground sage, dried cranberries and baking soda and stir until combined.

Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the frozen browned butter directly into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the sour cream and buttermilk. Use a large fork and a large rubber spatula to stir the mixture together. If it seems a little dry you may add the additional buttermilk until it forms a shaggy dough.

Sprinkle a pastry mat, wooden cutting board or a clean smooth countertop with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and pat a few times with your hands until it loosely holds together. (Don’t knead it too much or the warmth in your palms will melt the butter and cause the biscuits to be tough.)

Use a bench scraper or a large sharp knife to divide the dough in half. Roughly shape each half into a square. Stack one of the halves on top of the other and use a rolling pin to roll it together into one mass. Repeat this process two to three more times before patting it into one final rectangle. (This is a process of layering so that the biscuits will bake flaky).

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven.

Sprinkle your work surface with flour and unwrap the biscuit dough out onto it. Use a bench scraper or very sharp knife to trim the edges of the rectangle. Use a square cookie cutter, or a knife to cut the remaining dough into squares, about 2″ each.

Remove the cut biscuits to the baking sheet you’ve lined with parchment paper, placing them rather close to each other (it will help them rise higher). Freeze until cold, about 15 minutes.

Spray the tops of the biscuits with cooking spray, and then sprinkle with flaked sea salt if desired.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown and cooked through at the edges (they should not look wet)

For Sausage Gravy

Brown the sausage in a large skillet until no longer pink and formed into crumbles. Drain (but reserve the sausage grease!) and remove to a separate bowl.

In a large pot (I used my Dutch oven) over medium heat, pour in the flour. Stir with a metal spoon or spatula for about 1-2 minutes, just until you smell it start to toast. (Don’t let it get too brown, this is supposed to be a white gravy.)

Pour in the milk, water, oregano, sage, onion powder, black pepper and bay leaf.

(A thing to keep in mind: sausage is very salty on its own. In lieu of salt, I added a few tablespoons of the reserved sausage grease to the gravy so that it had both salt and meaty flavor. If you prefer to use salt, you can, but just be careful with how much you use.)

Bring the mixture up to a boil, stirring constantly until smooth. Lower heat to a simmer and allow to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, tasting and adjusting for seasoning. It should begin to thicken into a gravy-like consistency.

Pour in the reserved sausage, stir and turn the heat down to low, allowing to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Split the biscuits in half and serve with the gravy spooned on top.