Smoky Mountain Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy

I guess you know by now this isn't a gourmet cooking blog or a "cooking light" blog. If you're into healthy cooking light recipes, stop reading, turn around and run far, far away. The only redeeming feature of this recipe is that it "shore is good"!

I've learned very quickly since our arrival in East Tennessee almost two years ago, that people take their biscuits and gravy very seriously in these here parts. In fact it's staple, in fact McDonald's and Hardee's serve biscuits in gravy, in fact my husband has become a fan of biscuits and gravy. I don't remember fast food places back in the Big Easy serving biscuits and gravy for breakfast and I don't remember my husband requesting this delicacy in the 20 years that I've known him. When we first moved up here I thought is was pretty gross, but then we eat crawfish and the people here think that's gross (boiled crawfish are NOT gross, they are better than biscuits and gravy). I made biscuits and gravy for the first time 2 weeks ago, now on Saturday mornings I hear from the love of my life, "sigh, I sure go could for some biscuits and gravy for breakfast.". Meanwhile I'm thinking to myself, "A.J. please take a Crestor (for cholesterol) and have a bowl of oatmeal." He works so hard and asks for so little so this morning I am going to surprise him and make him biscuits and gravy.

There's one thing you need know before we get started in case the food snob police read this post. I am using canned refrigerated biscuits because that's what my husband prefers. Since this is for him, and they are way easier to prepare, I'm using canned biscuits. Ok, let's get breakfast going!

Smoky Mountain Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy -

Bake 1 package of Pillsbury Butter Tastin' Biscuits per package directions.

While the oven is heating and the biscuits are baking, brown about 6 breakfast sausage patties.

Remove thoroughly cooked sausage patties from pan and set aside and drain on a paper towel.

Drain the rendered fat from the frying pan, reserving 2 tablespoons. Heat the reserved 2 tablespoons of fat over medium - medium high heat. Once the fat is heated add 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Stir flour into grease to form a "roux" taking care to get out all of the flour lumps.

Stir continuously until the flour cooks off and the roux starts to brown to a caramel color, about 4 minutes.

Whisk in 1 cup of milk to get the proper thick consistency and keep stirring. If the gravy is too thick add 1 more cup of milk. Add 1/4 cup at a time and stir to blend it in evenly. As an option, you can crumble one of your sausage patties into the the gravy. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper to your gravy.

Slice your biscuits in half and spoon the gravy over the biscuits open faced while thinking how your going to work off these extra calories today.

Serve with a slice of sausage and you have a breakfast fit for a king or Elvis.