Breakfast Essentials Old Sawmill Gravy Recipes

Steps:

• Cook sausage in a cast iron skillet. When done, remove sausage from pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Whisk flour into the fat and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk a little at a time. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally while the gravy comes to a simmer and thickens. (Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that's where the flavor is.) Check seasoning, add crumbled sausage and serve over toast or biscuits.

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Chef's Note: Per one story, the origins of "sawmill" gravy comes from the fact that it was served to the lumberjacks working at the sawmills in the timber-rich mountains of the East. It was a simple dish using bacon drippings, and ground cornmeal; however, it was nutritious enough to keep the men on their feet until lunch. Sometimes, if the gravy was too thick, the men complained that the cooks must have put sawdust into the gravy.
• 3. Chef's Note: If you are curious, here is an original recipe for sawmill gravy from an 1867 cookbook: Sawmill Gravy • 1 tablespoon bacon drippings • 3 heaping tablespoons white cornmeal • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 2 cups milk • dash of pepper I have been told that this original recipe is still being served to lumberjacks up in the Pacific Northwest.
• 4. Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• 5. Add the chopped bacon to a saucepan, over medium heat.
• 6. Cook until the bacon fat melts into the saucepan, about 3 - 5 minutes.
• 7. Add the crumbled sausage.
• 8. Continue to cook until the sausage begins to brown.
• 9. Chef's Tip: Keep the saucepan active by stirring regularly.
• 10. Add the flour.
• 11. Stir until completely incorporated into the sausage/bacon mixture, about 2 - 4 minutes.
• 12. Chef's Note: Cooking the flour for a couple of minutes, will help to eliminate that "flour" taste.
• 13. Add the milk and cream.
• 14. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook until it thickens, about 5 - 7 minutes.
• 15. Add the vinegar, and then season with the cayenne, salt, and pepper, to taste.
• 16. PLATE/PRESENT
• 17. Serve over a couple of freshly-made buttermilk biscuits, with a bottle of hot sauce on the side. Enjoy.
• 18. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

Steps:

• Add sausage to a large skillet or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir with a spatula, breaking apart the sausage until cooked and starting to crisp, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add butter, onion powder, and garlic powder; stir until butter is melted.
• Sprinkle flour over sausage and butter and stir until combined. Reduce heat slightly and cook until thick, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Pour in chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until stock is absorbed and mixture is thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in milk until gravy is hot and bubbly.
• Season to taste with salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper. If gravy becomes too thick, thin out with more milk.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a 4-quart pot or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour until a paste forms. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour is a light golden color, 5 to 10 minutes. Add milk, whisking vigorously. Season with pepper, salt, sage, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook until thickened but not boiling, about 5 minutes.