Batter Up and Fry: Tailgating Treats. “Biscuits and Sausage Gravy”

When there is an early game you really need something hearty and filling to help you make it through the hours of cheering and drinking you have ahead of you. That’s why I like to start off with a solid breakfast, like the classic biscuits and gravy. This is a dish I will forever associate with home, family and holidays. You just don’t see it done here in New York City all that often (or at least done well) so it leaves me to make a batch on my own at home when I am feeling the urge. Luckily it is easy and incredibly fast to put together, once you’ve got the biscuits in hand.

You can buy your biscuits if you know somewhere that does them right or make up a batch of your own, perhaps from a recipe like this one. Biscuits don’t have to be scary—just make sure your butter is super cold and cut into small pieces and don’t overwork the dough. Nothing to it.

I like a sausage-heavy gravy, but if you want a higher sauce-to-sausage ratio, you can cut the amount of sausage in half.

Sausage Gravy (for Biscuits and Gravy)

Serves about 4

16 oz. sausage*

4 TB flour

2 1/2 c. milk

Salt and pepper

4-6 large biscuits

*You want sausage without a casing. If the only sausage you can find is in a casing, just use your hands to squeeze the loose sausage meat out and then discard the casings. There is something a little gross yet extremely satisfying about this process.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sausage to the pan and break up using a wooden spoon. Stir occasionally until the sausage is all cooked through. Sprinkle the flour all over the sausage. Give it a stir for about a minute to let the raw flour taste cook off and to coat the ground meat with it. Now pour in the milk and whisk or stir constantly until the gravy has thickened, about 3 minutes. If the gravy is too thick for you, stir in a bit more milk. If it is too thin, mix a bit of milk with a bit more flour and stir this slurry into your gravy. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed (I like a few good cranks of fresh pepper in my gravy so I can really taste it).

To serve, cut the biscuits in half and place on a plate. Slather with the gravy and serve immediately.