Biscuits and Gravy (True Story)

I met a man from New York who had never tried biscuits and gravy before. Say what?!?! Hear me out...

 

 

In December 2019, we took our family on a road trip to Kentucky to see the ARK. Really great trip. As a christian mom, I would highly recommend taking your kids out to see it if you haven't yet had the opportunity. It was really neat. But that's not what this story is about. This story is about biscuits and gravy.

Before we became a family of 5 (we got Sterling mid 2020), our favorite hotel to stay in was always the Holiday Inn Express. Decent room, decent price, free continental breakfast in the morning. And we just so happened to be staying at a Holiday Inn Express on our trip to Kentucky. (I would gladly accept any reward the Holiday Inn wants to send me for this free advertising. You're welcome. Ha!)

When we woke up the next morning and went down for breakfast, there weren't many people in the dining room, which was good because the gals tend to scatter all over the place looking for their favorite cereals, playing with the pancake conveyor belt thingy. (I have to admit that thing is fascinating.) During this time an older man and his two middle aged daughters entered the dining hall speaking with loud, cheerful NY accents. (I'm from Oklahoma, in case you didn't know.)

When we got the gals settled down and munching away at their breakfast choices, I finally got the chance to head over to the buffet table myself. As soon as I got there, the old man came up beside me and started filling his plate, too. But after a minute, he stopped and just stared at the food, frowning.

I glanced at him and asked, "Everything okay?"

He said, "Um... actually, do you know what that is?" He was pointing at the sausage gravy.

"It's gravy," I told him.

"Well... what is it for?"

"Oh, you can put it on your biscuit."

His face made a "hmm" expression. And then he grabbed a couple of biscuits, plopped some gravy on the top, and went back to sit with his daughters. As soon as the man sits down, the two women crack up sounding like a pair of geese. And we heard them say things like:

"Oh! Isn't that cute?" 

"Well, would you look at that!" 

"I didn't realize we were far enough south to get biscuits and gravy!" 

My husband and I were quietly giggling at their conversation. 

After several minutes, the old man got up and put three more biscuits on his plate along with some eggs and bacon... and dumped gravy all over the whole thing.

Yep, I thought, that's how it's done!

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Just in case you got here because you were googling recipes for biscuits and gravy, I'd hate to leave you disappointed. I figured I may as well share my grandma's white gravy recipe with you. It's super simple, or as my kids like to say "stupid simple."

You'll need:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup of flour

2 cups of milk

salt and pepper to taste

First, melt the butter on low to medium heat in a skillet large enough to hold at least 2 cups of liquid with room for stirring. (I personally prefer cast iron, but any skillet will do.) 

Add the flour and mix it into the butter until fully combined into a thick yellowy paste. I like to use a fork. 

Carefully pour in the milk and whisk it into the flour/butter mixture until it is combined. Nudge the heat up a bit until you notice bubbles forming in the milk but not hot enough to make it boil. 

The gravy should thicken up after a few minutes. Some people like thinner gravy, some people like it thick. So the cook time depends on your own preference. (Note: it will thicken a little more as it cools.) 

Once your gravy reaches your desired consistency, turn off the heat and add in your salt and pepper. This is where you get to taste it over and over to make sure it's just how you want it. 

Serve it over biscuits, potatoes, french fries, pasta, eggs, toast... heck, just pour it all over everything. And don't ask me why Okies are overweight. I have no idea. Just pass the gravy.

Anyway... enjoy. And I hope you are having a wonderful start to a fresh new year. Sorry if I ruined your diet. YOLO