Black Pepper And Sage Biscuits Recipes

Steps:

• For the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. With your fingers, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles large crumbs. Mix in the buttermilk, stirring just until a dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 1-inch-thick disk. Cut out 10 to 12 biscuits using a 2 1/2-inch cutter or a glass of equal size. Reuse the scraps.
• Arrange the biscuits on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with black pepper. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
• For the gravy: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, breaking it up into small pieces, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
• Add the butter and flour to the skillet and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Pour in the milk, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened, stirring and scraping the bottom of skillet constantly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the reserved sausage and mix until fully combined.

Steps:

• Put the sausage in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet. (If it's in links, squeeze it into the pan, and discard the casing.) Turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring and breaking the sausage into tiny bits, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. If the sausage sticks to the pan, add 1/2 teaspoon neutral oil. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. You should have a scant 2 cups cooked sausage bits.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.
• Add the butter and toss to coat with the dry ingredients. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, press and cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form with some peanut-size pieces remaining. Toss in the chopped sage and sausage until evenly coated. Add the buttermilk and mix with a fork until no dry bits remain and mixture forms a mass.
• Lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it. With lightly floured hands or rolling pin, pat or roll the dough into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle (about 1/2-inch thick). Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the dough into 2-inch squares. Put on the prepared sheet, spacing 1 inch apart.
• If the dough has softened, refrigerate or freeze until stiff. Brush the tops of the dough squares with butter and press a sage leaf onto each. Grind pepper on top.
• Bake until well risen, and the edges are just beginning to brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool on the pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature, wrapped in a napkin to eat out of hand.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Blend flour, baking powder, salt, sage, cayenne and black pepper in food processor or large bowl.
• Add cold butter and pulse, or quickly blend with your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
• In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg until blended. Add to flour mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form. Do not overmix or you'll have "rubber" biscuits!
• Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead until it holds together, about 6 turns.
• Roll out or pat dough to 1/2" thickness. Using a floured 2" biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out biscuits. Reroll scraps and cut remaining biscuits.
• Transfer biscuits to a large nonstick baking sheet.
• Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.