← Nouns Cooking · American

Ingredients

• 300 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tbsp Baking powder
• ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Sugar (optional)
• 115 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 240 ml cold buttermilk
• 450 g pork breakfast sausage meat (or sausages, skins removed)
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 40 g plain flour
• 700 ml whole milk
• 1 tsp Black pepper, coarsely ground
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 pinch Cayenne pepper (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F) and line a baking tray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl, then rub or cut in the cold butter until the biggest pieces are pea-sized.
2. Stir in the buttermilk with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Tip onto a floured surface, pat into a rectangle, fold it in three like a letter, then pat out again to 2.5 cm thick.
3. Cut out 6 biscuits with a floured cutter, pressing straight down without twisting, and set them on the tray just touching. Bake for 13–15 min, until tall and golden.
4. Meanwhile, brown the sausage meat in a large frying pan over medium-high heat for 8–10 min, breaking it into small crumbs, until cooked through with no pink.
5. Add the butter to the pan, sprinkle over the flour and stir for 1–2 min. Gradually pour in the milk, stirring, and simmer for 5–6 min, until thick and creamy. Season with plenty of pepper, salt and cayenne.
6. Split the warm biscuits, set them on plates and ladle the hot gravy over the top.

Tips

• Keep everything cold for the biscuits: cold butter makes steam pockets, and that means flaky layers.
• If the gravy thickens too much as it stands, loosen it with a splash of milk.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

The Modern Proper Jo Cooks