Biscuits and gravy (for Da)

So I got a request for my biscuit and gravy recipe from dad, here it is.

Sausage Gravy (meaty version)

1/2 pack breakfast sausage (not links, the roll) I usually use Tennessee Pride Sage sausage roll, I think the flavors just right, and I don't have to add seasonings.  Brown the sausage in a big frying pan (I usually add a little butter to it as it is browning to keep it from sticking).  Once the sausage is all browned, broken down, and fully cooked, add about a teaspoon of bacon grease if you have it laying around, plus another tab of butter.  If you don't have the bacon grease, no worries, just add more butter.  I use the bacon grease for added flavor.  Once your butter/grease mixture is all melted down with the sausage, add a couple tablespoons of flour. I have never tried rice flour, but I'm sure it would work fine.  Make sure the flour is mixed in well and has no lumps, and then cook it for a few minutes to get rid of the floury taste.  Then add milk/cream to the right consistency.  I have no measurements on how much liquid you should add, its totally dependent on the amount of sausage and flour. Pat likes a good sausage to gravy ratio, so I add enough milk to make it the thickness of a nice alfredo sauce, but not to runny.  Cook for a bit until its thick and hot.  You can add more milk if it gets too thick, or it doesn't seem like there is enough gravy to go around.  Just make sure to do it a little at a time, otherwise you could get a curdled, yucky mess.  Once the the gravy is all hot and tasty, add salt and pepper to taste.  I would recommend tasting you gravy prior to seasoning, 'cause if you use a sage sausage or similar, and the bacon grease, you may not need much in the way of salt.  

When actually eating the biscuits and gravy I usually just buy a can of Pillsbury flaky biscuits and bake them up, 'cause I get a bit lazy about baking early in the morning.  I have made homemade biscuits though, and you could probably re-heat them in the oven with some butter and they would be tasty.

Pat layers them in this order:

Biscuit, split in half (usually two biscuits)

fried egg

sausage gravy

very tasty combo!

I would guess that grating a little Parmesan on top would also be tasty, especially if you used a hot sausage instead of the sage.

So that is it.  As you can see, my trick to it seems to be adding several forms of fat.  'cause, hey, cream and butter and bacon grease are tasty!

"Sausage" Gravy (meatless or fake meat)

Now this one I only made the once, so Vienna and Steph should add in any thoughts they have.

I believe that we used a crumbled meatless "sausage", maybe Italian.  A breakfast "sausage" would be good too.  Brown up the "sausage" with some butter, and by some I mean a good little chunk.  When it is almost done add some minced garlic, and saute that up.  Then add some more butter, and flour.  Making sure there are no lumps of flour, and cook it to get rid of the floury taste.  Add milk til it reaches your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.  I think you could add other seasoning to what ever taste you want, maybe some red pepper flakes.  

Now I have never tried making anything with soy milk, so I don't know if you could substitute it, but if anyone wants to try a dairy free version I'd love to know how it turns out.

Ok, hope those are helpful.  I have never written down the recipe, nor do I ever use exact measurements, it more of a feel and taste recipe.  So, just taste your way to a tasty sausage gravy.

Ora