Even on weekends now, we now tend to rush through breakfast like a morning thunder storm. There is soccer or football or band or something that means we are already late. Every family is busier on the weekend than the “work week.”
Which is a bit of a shame. When I was growing up, weekends were slower. There was time to do something very important: nothing. Just nothing. And there was the other important thing: cooking great food. I had gravy almost every weekend: gravy, sausage, scrambled eggs. You can never grow tired of those treats!
I recently posted a review of One Pan to Rule Them All, a rock solid tribute to cast iron pans. The utility and the grace of cast iron is on display in this gravy recipe. If you are over 40, this will bring back happy memories. If you are under 40, you are about to enjoy something you’ll never forget. And, that you will cook again and again.
Oh, the biscuits? There’s a recipe in the book for making them in, what else, a cast iron pan.
Creamy Country Gravy from One Pan to Rule Them All
Yield: about 6 cups
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ pound raw chorizo, or other pork sausage, casings removed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups milk
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
Preparation:
Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Once the butter melts, add sausage to the skillet. Cook the sausage until slightly browned, about 5 minutes, breaking apart the sausage as it cooks. Sprinkle flour over the sausage and mix. Sauté this mixture for 2 minutes, then slowly stir in the milk, salt, and cayenne. Continue to stir the mixture until it comes to a boil.
Lower the heat to medium-low and allow the gravy to simmer, stirring occasionally, until it reaches the desired wavy gravy consistency, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve immediately: biscuits, chicken fried steak, sausage, …
Source: One Pan to Rule Them All by Howie Southworth and Greg Matza [Good Books, 2016]