Sausage Breakfast Gravy

I am not a great breakfast cook…but I am a decent chef and have the understandings that most learned chef’s develop as they grow up culinary and move through the education process. Gravy is a foundation menu item. Every cook should have some skill here and whip it out as needed and apply it to the proper food groups. A white breakfast gravy made with sausage is a powerful table item in the home and restaurant. Here is my version and prep advice.

I rarely make breakfast gravy in my home , as my gal is not the breakfast gravy type and she is my most regular guest.

When filling in for the chef position at J Gumbos, as Deb Moriato asked if I was able to prepare a breakfast gravy, I said “yes I can”. I whipped out a large pot (do not do this at home you will have a huge amount of gravy).

In my pot I added a cup or two of water

8 pork sausage patties

1/2 pound butter

1 tbsp course black pepper

3 big spoons flour

3/4 gal milk

I lay the sausage patties in the water in my pot and turn the burner on 3/4. As the water begins to boil and the patties thaw, I crumble them with the back of my long handled cooking spoon. I want the patties to drain the fat away from the meat and to crumble into sausage meal in the pot. I do not want the sausage to brown but I do want the pork to cook. In the water the sausage will turn grey. This is expected. As the water evaporates, I add the chunk of butter. This butter is going to melt and I help it along with my spoon by cutting it up in the pot. Next I add 3 big heaping spoons of flour to the sausage and butter. This is going to make a roux. The roux is the gravy base. I turn my heat down to just under a half and I let the roux cook with constant stirring for about 60-80 seconds. I add my macho black pepper and give a few more stirs then in goes the milk. The gravy need to have the roux stirred into the milk as it comes to a low rumble type boil. Then back off the heat to a simmer and let the gravy thicken with occasional stirring until the gravy is at your desired thickness. Adjust your gravy thickness by adding more milk or more roux to get the desired thickness. Transfer to the warming table when finished.

Here you go Deb… the Chef Gosselin Gumbo Gravy… served only at the Clifton J Gumbos on Saturday and Sunday.

Lots of variations here…. you can add sage or use a sage sausage. You can add sugar for a sweet sausage gravy. Some people add cooked onion in the gravy. I personally just make it basic in the restaurant so that all dining room guests can enjoy a freshly made tasty biscuit gravy. In the case of my formula for J Gumbos, I had improved the gravy by many times over. The departed cook made terrible gravy…he added fry-a-lator oil to his gravy as the agent to make the roux. It was terrible. Make the gravy with a real roux and let the sausage fat incorporate into the roux too…it is a nice proper gravy.