Real Old Fashioned Southern Sausage Sawmill Gravy—No Fluff

There is one breakfast meal that really stands out for most as hearty, belly-warming comfort food. Getting it's roots deep in Southern Appalachia in the 1880s, lumber factory workers invented what they lovingly named “sawmill gravy” as something high in calories to keep them fueled all day tossing logs. It was a basic gravy of pork, milk, and flour, readily available and cheap. They used freshly butchered pork, rendered fats, and flour, heavy on the pepper for taste.

There is a difference between sausage gravy and country gravy—a huge difference. Sausage gravy is made with the fat from the sausage; country gravy is made with butter. If I have a choice, I will always choose true southern sausage sawmill gravy!

Sausge gravyPhoto byRichelleg

Real Old Fashioned Southern Sausage Sawmill Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 pound of mild or hot breakfast sausage. You can use patties, links, a roll of Jimmy Dean, country sausage, or any sausage you like.
• 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
• 3 or 4 cups of whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt; be careful not to add any more if your breakfast sausage is salty.
• Two teaspoons fresh ground black pepper, or more according to taste
• Warm, delicious biscuits to serve the gravy on

It's delicious!Photo byRichelleg

Directions

• Tear small chunks of sausage with your fingers and place in a large, heavy skillet in a single layer. Over medium-high heat, brown sausage until no longer pink.
• Turn the heat down to medium-low.
• Gradually add your flour, sprinkling half first and stirring constantly until the sausage absorbs it all.
• Add the milk, and stir continuously.

Keep stirring!Photo byRichelleg

• Cook the gravy until it thickens. This could take ten to twelve minutes, but keep stirring.
• After adding the seasoned salt and pepper, simmer the mixture until it becomes thick and rich.
• Add another 1/2 cup of milk, or more if necessary, if it becomes too thick. Adjust the seasoning by tasting.

Serve hot over warm biscuits and enjoy!

Truly amazingPhoto byRichelleg