Cornmeal Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

This recipe, from “Better Homes and Gardens Holiday recipes 2011", has good directions for making it ahead – a good idea if you have a busy household during the holidays.  We liked the fresh sage and the touch of cornmeal in the biscuits.  

I used pork sausage from our nearby meat locker, the Leighton Locker in Leighton, Iowa.

Sausage gravy on biscuits appears on the menu of almost every small town café in Iowa, sometimes very good and sometimes with very little sausage and with a pasty consistency.  This recipe has plenty of sausage and has a perfect gravy.             

Cornmeal Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

                        Cornmeal Biscuits

  2 2/3      Cups  Flour, All-purpose

     1/3      Cup  Cornmeal

  4             Teaspoons  Baking Powder

  1             Tablespoon  Sugar

     3/4      Teaspoon  Cream of Tartar

     1/2      Teaspoon  Salt

  2             Tablespoons  Green Onion -- finely chopped

  1             Teaspoon  Fresh Sage -- finely chopped

     3/4      Cup  Butter

  1 1/4      Cups  Buttermilk -- or sour milk

                 Sausage Gravy

  1 1/2      Pounds  Pork Sausage

  1             Cup  Onion -- chopped

     1/4      Cup  Flour, All-purpose

  3             Cups  Milk

  2             Teaspoons  Fresh Sage

Preheat oven to 450°.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, salt, the 2 tablespoons green onion and the sage.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture remember coarse crumbs.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.  Add buttermilk all at once.  Using a fork, stir just until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead dough by folding and gently pressing it just until dough holds together.   Pat out until 1/4" thick.  Cut with a floured 2 1/2" round cutter; reroll scraps as necessary.  Dip cutter into flour between cuts.

Place biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden.  remove biscuits from baking sheet.  Cool slightly.

To serve, split biscuits and top with sausage gravy.

Gravy:  in very large skillet, cook sausage and onion until brown breaking up meat as it cooks.  Do not drain.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup flour and stir into the meat mixture.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 1 minute.  While whisking, gradually add milk.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir for 1 minute more.  Stir in the fresh sage or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried sage.

To prepare ahead; prepare biscuits and freeze up to 2 months.  Prepare gravy and chill, covered tightly, for up to 48 hours.

To serve, thaw biscuits at room temperature about 2 hours.  If desired, bake biscuits at 350° for 10 minutes.  Reheat sausage gravy over medium low heat 10-15 minutes, adding extra milk if needed.

12 Servings

"5 Cups"

Per Serving: 522 Calories; 37g Fat (64.0% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 79mg Cholesterol; 805mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 6 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.