Breakfast Essentials Old Sawmill Gravy Recipes

SAWMILL GRAVY

Steps:

• Cook sausage in a cast iron skillet. When done, remove sausage from pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Whisk flour into the fat and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk a little at a time. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally while the gravy comes to a simmer and thickens. (Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that's where the flavor is.) Check seasoning, add crumbled sausage and serve over toast or biscuits.

BREAKFAST ESSENTIALS: OLD SAWMILL GRAVY

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Chef's Note: Per one story, the origins of "sawmill" gravy comes from the fact that it was served to the lumberjacks working at the sawmills in the timber-rich mountains of the East. It was a simple dish using bacon drippings, and ground cornmeal; however, it was nutritious enough to keep the men on their feet until lunch. Sometimes, if the gravy was too thick, the men complained that the cooks must have put sawdust into the gravy.
• 3. Chef's Note: If you are curious, here is an original recipe for sawmill gravy from an 1867 cookbook: Sawmill Gravy • 1 tablespoon bacon drippings • 3 heaping tablespoons white cornmeal • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 2 cups milk • dash of pepper I have been told that this original recipe is still being served to lumberjacks up in the Pacific Northwest.
• 4. Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
• 5. Add the chopped bacon to a saucepan, over medium heat.
• 6. Cook until the bacon fat melts into the saucepan, about 3 - 5 minutes.
• 7. Add the crumbled sausage.
• 8. Continue to cook until the sausage begins to brown.
• 9. Chef's Tip: Keep the saucepan active by stirring regularly.
• 10. Add the flour.
• 11. Stir until completely incorporated into the sausage/bacon mixture, about 2 - 4 minutes.
• 12. Chef's Note: Cooking the flour for a couple of minutes, will help to eliminate that "flour" taste.
• 13. Add the milk and cream.
• 14. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook until it thickens, about 5 - 7 minutes.
• 15. Add the vinegar, and then season with the cayenne, salt, and pepper, to taste.
• 16. PLATE/PRESENT
• 17. Serve over a couple of freshly-made buttermilk biscuits, with a bottle of hot sauce on the side. Enjoy.
• 18. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.

SAWMILL GRAVY WITH SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Serve and enjoy on top of biscuits.

SAWMILL GRAVY WITHOUT SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a 4-quart pot or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour until a paste forms. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour is a light golden color, 5 to 10 minutes. Add milk, whisking vigorously. Season with pepper, salt, sage, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook until thickened but not boiling, about 5 minutes.

SAWMILL GRAVY

Steps:

• Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons fat in skillet. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until flour is brown. Add chopped green onion, and cook until tender. Gradually stir in milk, and cook until thickened. Add more milk if necessary to achieve preferred consistency. Serve with sausage.

CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE'S SAWMILL GRAVY RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• After frying bacon, ham or chicken, pour off fat and measure 1/4 cup drippings. Place back in pan and add flour. Stir until blended. Add 2 cups water and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until bubbling and thick. Season to taste with salt and coarse ground pepper. Add crumbled sausage and bacon bits. Stir well.

SAWMILL GRAVY

Steps:

• Brown sausage in cast iron skillet and drain. Set aside.
• In large cast iron skillet, melt butter. Add flour and whisk to make roux. Add half and half and evaporated milk, a little at a time, whisking constantly until the mixture is thinned out to about the consistency of tomato soup. If your skillet isn't big enough, you can transfer it to a Dutch oven or larger, deep pot at this point.
• Add sausage and seasonings, and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is hot and bubbly. You can add additional milk if it's too thick.
• If it's too thin, take some of the hot mixture in a separate cup, mix in some additional flour, and combine to make paste. Add paste back into hot gravy. If you just put flour into the hot mixture, it will lump up.