Man's Man Biscuits & Gravy

I decided to post my biscuits and gravy because everyone loves them. I had no idea people liked them so much until I got so many compliments, so I got to thinking what I do different than other people. I have never been a huge biscuits and gravy gal because to be honest with you, most people's biscuits and gravy are very bland and flowery tasting. I would never order them from a restaurant and only eat them when my momma made them. So over the past few years, I've experimented with biscuit and gravy makin'. Biscuits and Gravy is a man's man food. And I have a man's man! I had to come up with something awesome. It's amazing to me how many people don't know how to make gravy!!! Here you go!

First, if you do not have Emeril's Original Essence, #1 you're crazy, #2 get your butt to the store and get some! I have a huge container from SAMS, because yes I use it in 75% of the dishes I make. It's the perfect blend of spices that gives food that extra umf!

In a large skillet brown up some ground sausage with about a tablespoon of Emeril's Original Essence. Now this is just biscuits and gravy for two so this is only half a regular sized tube of sausage. If you buy sausage from the store, get something flavored, I love the sage and hot flavored sausages. But I get my sausage from SAMS as well, so I flavor my own. You don't want to brown it until it is crispy, hard chunks of sausage in gravy is an unpleasant surprise. Once your sausage is almost done, throw in a couple of tablespoons of flour. No you do not drain the grease, if you have never made gravy this may be a new concept to you, but gravy has to have grease!

I think in this step a lot of people drain the sausage and then try to make the gravy by itself. My question, why? Why take the extra step? Making the gravy from start to finish with the sausage in it flavors the gravy and you get to use the sausages grease rather than having to start from scratch with some other kind of grease.

Next, on medium heat, with a whisk in hand, slowly pour in about a cup and a half of milk, whisking in quick short motions. You want to break up the flour clumps. I also think leaving the sausage in the skillet helps break up the flour clumps. Anyway...

Next pour in plenty of fresh cracked black pepper. This may look like a lot, but fresh cracked black pepper adds pepper flavor rather than pre-ground pepper that mostly just adds spicy flavor. Whisk the pepper in the gravy mixture and let sit for a few minutes. Keep the burner on medium heat throughout the process.

It will bubble and have a little film on top, but that is what you want! I think this is what I do different. Most people cook gravy for a really long time, on low heat with a lot of flower. I figured out I hate the floury taste, so turning the burner to medium and allowing the gravy to bubble without messing with it thickens the gravy without having to add additional flour.

So if the gravy isn't thick in 5 minutes, whatever you do, DONT add more flour. Let the heat do the thickening!

See the rich color, the bubbles and the slight film on top? This is what you want. I would say whisk it about every 3-5 minutes. Once it gets a slight film and gets thick, whisk in a little more milk and then let it sit some more. You will do this a few times, cooking your gravy for 20-30 minutes.

VOILA! There you go, thick, rich and meaty, man's man biscuits and gravy!