INGREDIENTS
Dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp soda
¾ tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
½ cup chilled vegetable shortening or butter
¾-1 cup cold buttermilk
melted butter or heavy cream to brush the tops
For the gravy:
1 lb hot or mild country sausage
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp plain or seasoned salt [more or less to your taste]
1 tsp ground black pepper [more or less to your taste]
4½-5 cups milk
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the biscuits: Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Cube the shortening or butter, then cut it into the dry ingredients. You can do this by hand with a pastry blender or with your food processor, pulse until it becomes crumbly and resembles peas.
Stir in the cold buttermilk, just until the dough is thoroughly moistened. Sometimes I use ¾ cup and sometimes as much as 1 cup of buttermilk. The dough shouldn’t be overly wet, but, slightly sticky.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface about ¾ inches thick and cut into rounds. Brush off excess flour.
Brush the tops with melted butter or heavy cream and bake at 450°F for 13-15 minutes until lightly golden and puffy. Yield: 8 [3] inch biscuits or 10 [2] inch biscuits
To make the gravy: Place the sausage in a heavy-bottomed pan or cast-iron skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break the sausage up with a spoon as it cooks.
Cook until browned.
Drain all but 3 Tbsp of drippings from the pan. Sprinkle the all-purpose flour over the sausage. Stir until the sausage is coated continuing to cook until lightly browned. Season with the salt and black pepper.
Over medium-high heat begin adding the milk, stirring constantly. Add 4 cups, adding more as needed to thin to your desired texture.
After all of the milk has been added, bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
