Light and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits with Southern Style Sausage Gravy – These fabulous Biscuits are perfect with creamy sausage gravy for breakfast & brunch or for Cast Iron Casseroles.
Southern Style Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
When is a Biscuit a Scone and a Cookie a Biscuit?
Biscuit is a term used for a variety of primarily flour-based baked food products. The term is applied to two distinct products in North America and the Commonwealth of Nations and Europe. The North American biscuit is typically a soft quick bread, similar to British scone. Other types of biscuit as found in Europe and Australasia, are typically hard, flat and unleavened that are known as cookies in North America.
When I lived in the States many years ago, I made a road trip from Pennsylvania where I was living at the time, right down to Florida, in an old beat-up Ford Mustang! The trip took me four days, and saw me travelling through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Nights were spent in motels and small hotels, and as I drove down the East coast down towards the Southern states, the landscape, accents and food changed every fifty miles or so……it was a trip of a lifetime, hugely exciting as well as being a fascinating snapshot into every day life in the States. As my bright yellow “Fastback” mustang ate up the miles, frequent stops for the loo, “gas” (petrol) and of course food introduced me to new ingredients and meals, mostly taken in roadside diners, gas stations and motels. It was about half way through the Carolina’s that I discovered my first “biscuits and gravy”, something that wasn’t that prevalent in Pennsylvania where I lived; pulling in to an unassuming diner for an early morning breakfast I was presented with the “special” of the day, Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy. A plate of light, fluffy scone-like buns were placed in front of me, which were smothered in a creamy sauce that appeared to have crumbled sausages in it, along with a pot of coffee, and so began my lifelong love affair with this most Southern of American breakfasts and brunch.
The diner was full, and everyone was enjoying the homemade fare which was as I imagined it to be, fluffy pancakes with maple syrup and bacon, country-style fried potatoes, enormous ham and spicy vegetable filled omelettes, bacon and eggs with hash browns and of course buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy. Looking back, and it was many years ago now, I think my breakfast cost me about $2:50 with unlimited coffee, which equates to about £1:75 now, it was certainly not very expensive and suited my very frugal “travel budget” at the time. I got talking to a couple of ladies who sat next to me at the breakfast bar on red leather swivel stools, who told me they travelled over twenty-five miles every weekend to enjoy the diner’s famous home-made buttermilk biscuits and gravy; apparently the lady owner of the diner had won “State Fair” prizes for her delectable flaky biscuits and she’d been baking and selling them in the same diner for over forty years. I knew that she would never divulge her “secret recipe”, and ever since that day, I have been searching for a recipe that emulates the very same breakfast biscuits that I enjoyed all those years ago. After much research and many attempts at baking Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits, I finally found a recipe in an old Taste of the South magazine, that a friend in the States had sent me a few years ago, and one that seemed to fit the bill.
Today’s recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy is almost exactly as I remembered them, the biscuits are light and flaky with an amazing crumb, as you can see from the photos; the sausage gravy is creamy with tantalising mouthfuls of crumbled sausage in every bite, and the combination is one of those food combos that on paper doesn’t seem to work, especially as I am a big fan of scones, which are served warm with butter, jam and cream, or with cream cheese and ham for the savoury versions – I would never dream of serving scones with gravy, but it works! I suppose it’s a similar concept to baked scone type dumplings on top of a stew or casserole, that flaky bake with lots of sauce and/or gravy. One thing you must do when making this recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits, is to make sure you do the rolling and folding of the dough at least three or four times, it’s that procedure that gives these biscuits their flaky texture. I made a double batch of these last time I baked them, and popped them into the freezer, I then defrosted them and made breakfast sandwiches with them, using crispy fried bacon and fried eggs, similar to Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches with Ham, Eggs and Cheese. I’m sharing both recipes today for the Buttermilk Biscuits and the Sausage Gravy, so you can choose whether to serve them together or separately. DO let me know if you make them and what you think, that’s all for today, have a great weekend, and I’ll be back soon with more recipes, kitchen and travel news, Karen
Light & Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
Print recipe
| Serves | 10 x Biscuits |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 10 minutes |
| Total time | 20 minutes |
| Allergy | Milk, Wheat |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Bread, Breakfast, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Snack, Soup |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Barbecue, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving |
| Region | American |
| By author | Karen Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 375g SR Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 125g Trax white vegetable fat (or butter)
- 240ml buttermilk (or skimmed milk with the juice of a lemon added)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Optional
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
Note
Light & Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits - Fabulous Southern Style Biscuits that are perfect with sausage gravy for breakfast and brunch or Cast Iron Casseroles!
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7 and line a large baking sheet with baking paper/grease-proof paper. |
| Step 2 | Mix the flour and salt together (and sugar if using) and rub the fat into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. |
| Step 3 | Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add the buttermilk; stir the mixture until it just comes together, do not over mix. |
| Step 4 | Turn the dough out onto a large floured board and roll it out to a 20cm/10" x 18cm/9" rectangle; then fold the top and bottom ends into the middle of the dough, turn it around and repeat this process 3 or 4 times - this will create the "flakes" in the biscuits. (The thickness of the dough should be about 1.5cm/3/4" in thickness) |
| Step 5 | Stamp out the biscuits using a 7.5cm/3" scone/biscuit cutter, DO NOT TWIST as you stamp the biscuits. Place the biscuits on the prepared tray and brush them with the melted butter. |
| Step 6 | Bake the biscuits in the pre-heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are well risen and golden brown. Remove them and allow them to cool slightly before serving them. |
Southern Style Sausage Gravy
| Serves | 4 to 6 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 20 minutes |
| Total time | 25 minutes |
| Allergy | Milk, Wheat |
| Meal type | Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Casual Party, Christmas, Easter |
| Region | American |
| By author | Karen Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 450g pork sausages, skinned (use high meat content such as 85% meat)
- 50g plain flour
- 600ml whole milk
- 60ml double cream
- 2 teaspoons cider apple vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Note
Southern Style Sausage Gravy - Delicious Southern style sausage gravy that is easy to make and is perfect when served with buttermilk biscuits for breakfast.
Directions
| Step 1 | In a large frying pan/skillet, pan fry the crumbled sausages (sausage-meat), stirring all the time until the sausages are browned and crumbly, for about 10 minutes. |
| Step 2 | Sprinkle the flour over the cooked sausages and gradually add the milk and the cream, stirring all the time. |
| Step 3 | Add the vinegar, salt, garlic and black pepper and bring to a simmer, whisking the gravy constantly until it has thickened. |
| Step 4 | Serve immediately over warm buttermilk biscuits. |
More BISCUIT recipes:
Bacon-Cheddar Biscuits
Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken with Biscuits
Black Pepper and Thyme Biscuits
Cheddar-Thyme Drop Biscuits
Chicken Biscuits
Sweet Potato Biscuits
johanna @ green gourmet giraffe says
These look really beautiful. I’ve never had sausages and gravy with scones (oops biscuits) – it seems weird – I remember KFC having bread rolls and gravy way back when my siblings worked there but I never understood that. But I like your comparing it to dumplings and stew – that really makes sense.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Johanna, they are very similar to what we know as Cobbler topping, or as I say, a baked dumpling! Karen
Galina V says
Your biscuits look amazing, Karen! I have never tried a sausage gravy, though have come across it in some of the pioneer novels I have read (sausage gravy and ham gravy are often mentioned). I was always curious to try it, maybe one day I will.
Karen Burns-Booth says
I thought this might interest you Galina, as I know you are keen on Pioneer cooking and baking, as am I! I am going to try Red Eye Gravy next time, which is made with coffee! Karen
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
I often toy over the question scones vs biscuits…… but I am afraid that whatever the US dish, a scone remains a scone in my head and biscuits are nothing like them. It’s strange though that biscuits and cookies have become more interchangeable in terminology…. I wonder whether it is because the supermarket has adopted the alternatives?
Either way, your ‘biscuits’ look lovely. I would never have though of serving them with sausage gravy! x
Karen Burns-Booth says
I agree Kate, and can say quite clearly that these biscuits are very different to a scone, as they use more fat and a white fat at that. The texture and flavour is different and as you say, a scone is very much a scone! Also, I tend to make “rich scones” which have an egg in them, and American biscuits are quick breads with bicarbonate of soda or baking powder as the sole raising agent. Biscuits to me are still what the Americans call cookies, and they always will be! Karen
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says
Karen, I certainly wasn’t expecting to find Biscuits and Gravy here! Your recipes are a little different from mine, but I’d enjoy yours just as much, I’m sure. Minus the garlic, though. I’ve never heard of putting garlic in the sausage gravy, and besides that, I’m allergic to it, so must leave it out. My Southern grandma was from Virginia, so I grew up with a mixture of her Southern cooking and my English grandmother’s entirely different cooking. All good!
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thanks Jean! Yes, it was a recipe that I found in an old Southern Cooking magazine that said to use garlic in the gravy, and luckily I’m not allergic, so I added it! I love that you were brought up with a mixture of old style country cooking too – the very best of both worlds! Karen
Bakingfanatic says
Gorgeous scones: alwaays things of joy! And I adore the sausage gravy – what a great idea
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thank you so much – this recipe is so easy to make and we love it!
Jason says
Been too long since I’ve had some delicious biscuits. These look great.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Thank you Jason!