Recipes and tips to help you master this savory breakfast classic.
Looking for the perfect thing to make for brunch this weekend? Three words: biscuits and gravy. It's a surprisingly easy, savory breakfast dish that will definitely impress your friends.
But before we get to the recipes, let's start with the basics of biscuits and gravy.
First, you should always make your own biscuits.
It's dead easy, cheap, and you won't spend hours waiting for yeast to rise. Here are a few secrets to ensure your biscuits turn out flaky and delicious every time.
1. Use cold ingredients. Unlike yeast breads that need to be warm, with biscuits the colder the better.
2. Cut your fat into the dry ingredients with two knives, a pastry blender, or the edge of a fork. These little bits will melt and create steam, giving you flaky biscuits.
3. Handle the dough as little as possible, and place your biscuits in the freezer for a few minutes before baking in a very hot oven.
4. Bake the biscuits on the top rack of your oven.
5. Let them cool on a wire rack. If you let them cool on the pan the bottoms will go soggy, and no one likes soggy biscuits.
Check out this basic biscuit recipe or find one from your favorite food blog. Just make sure the recipe has the basics: flour, baking powder, shortening or another fat, and milk.
And you should also make your own gravy.
Again, super easy.
It's a basic béchamel gravy, so start by heating oil or butter. Add an equal amount of flour, cook for a minute, then slowly add milk. Season with salt, pepper, and here's the secret ingredient...
Nutmeg!
Yes, add a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg to your sauce. Don't ask me why, it just takes the flavor to a whole different level.
