Step by step

Method

4 steps

1. 1

   Bake 8 refrigerated or homemade buttermilk biscuits according to their directions until tall and golden on top — usually 12–15 minutes. Keep them warm.

2. 2

   While the biscuits bake, crumble 1 lb breakfast sausage into a wide skillet over medium heat. Cook 8–10 minutes, breaking it into small pieces, until browned with no pink left. Keep the drippings in the pan — that's the gravy base. If the pan looks dry, add a spoon of butter.

3. 3

   Sprinkle ¼ cup all-purpose flour over the sausage and stir 1 full minute so the flour tastes cooked, not raw. Gradually whisk in 3 cups whole milk, a splash at a time at first so it stays smooth. Add ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon rubbed sage.

4. 4

   Simmer 5–7 minutes, stirring often, until the gravy thickens enough to coat a spoon and leave a trail when you drag the spoon through. Taste — it should be peppery and sausage-rich. Split the warm biscuits and ladle gravy over them. You want fluffy biscuits under thick peppery sausage gravy — not thin watery sauce or floury lumps.