Biscuits & Gravy

Southern Biscuits

The biscuits that Emily Mabus makes for Chow Foods restaurants are made in such huge batches that we didn't want to risk scaling them down to home kitchen sizes -- something could be lost in the translation. So we're offering our own version of Southern Biscuits.

(Makes 12)
2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl to mix. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
Add the buttermilk all at once and stir just long enough to make a soft dough that holds together in a ball.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly for about 30 seconds. Roll the dough out about 1-inch thick. With a floured, 2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits; place them 1 inch apart on an un-greased baking sheet. Gather up the scraps, handling the dough as little as possible, and roll out and cut more biscuits.
Bake until tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

These biscuits are delicious on their own with a pad of butter, a little honey or a spot of jam. Or as the recipe suggests, split open and top with the hot Sausage Gravy.

Sausage Gravy

When we were kids, the abundant fat left in the pan after sausage was browned became the foundation for a simple white gravy. These days, pork is bred so lean that there is not enough fat, so Chow Foods executive chef, Emily Mabus uses a little oil to get things going. She builds the gravy right around the crumbled sausage in this meaty version served at The 5 Spot on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle.

(Makes about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons Canola oil
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onions
1/3 c flour
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, stripped off the stems
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cream
kosher salt
black pepper
Hot pepper sauce such as Tobasco, optional
Buttermilk Biscuits, recipe follows

Put oil in a skillet over medium heat. Put in the pork sausage and when it begins to release some fat to render the fat, break it up into dime sized chunks.
Once most of the pink is gone from the meat, add the diced yellow onions. Let them "wilt down in the fat." When they are translucent and tender, sprinkle in the flour and stir it around.
Whisk in the chicken broth then, add the cream and stir again.
This delightful concoction should lightly simmer for about 45 minutes for the flour to fully absorb the liquid and to let the pastiness of the gluten go away. The sausage will tenderize too.
After 45 minutes, add the fresh thyme, salt and pepper. If you feel it needs more liquid, then add it at this time. Re-season to your liking - more salt, more pepper. Add hot sauce if you like. Serve the gravy hot over biscuits that have been split open.