Yes, you read that right . . . gravies! Plural, because we are going to do two different gravies.
The first gravy is a staple in the South, sausage gravy. Here in the South sausage gravy is a standard in most households. It is served not only at breakfast time but lunch and supper too. Sausage gravy is great on mashed potatoes, fried chicken, chicken fried steak and of course, biscuits. If you are like me, I can eat sausage gravy on its own.
Sausage gravy starts out with, you guessed it, sausage! You want a good quality breakfast sausage, like the ones that come in the big roll that you slice into patties. The problem with most of the pork sausage at the grocery store is that they are high in fat. Ah, so you think the logical substitute, turkey sausage but the problem with most turkey sausage is they are lacking the fat that you will need to make the gravy. Another problem is that many manufacturers of turkey sausage sell them precooked and you need it raw. What do you do? Simple, make your own. I know it sounds too complicated but it is really no more complicated than browning ground beef with seasoning.
Y
ou will need three parts ground turkey and one part ground pork, that way we cut the fat but still have enough to make the gravy. You could also use 1 lb. of ground turkey but you will have to add a couple tablespoons of olive or canola oil to it once it is browned. Spices such as sage, thyme, coriander, pepper and garlic powder are mixed into the ground turkey and pork and then the entire mixture is browned in a large skillet. A little whole wheat flour is added to the browned turkey/pork mixture to create a roux then milk is added and simmered over low heat until it thickens. 
This savory gravy is then ladled over piping hot biscuits and served. You can substitute a nondairy milk for the milk, it doesn’t lose the consistency but I found with unsweetened almond milk, the gravy takes on a funky flavor much like trying to drink almond milk thinking it will taste like regular cow’s milk.
- 3/4 lb. ground turkey (dark and white meat mix)
- 1/4 lb. ground pork
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. rubbed sage
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- In a large bowl combine turkey, pork, seasonings and maple, mix thoroughly.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the turkey/pork mixture, crumbling the meat as it cooks.
- Once the turkey/pork mixture has browned there should be around 1 to 2 tablespoons of grease rendered from the meat, if there is an excess, drain grease so only 1 to 2 tablespoons of grease remains.
- Reduce heat to low.
- Sprinkle flour over turkey/pork mixture, keep stirring until it has absorbed all the grease, use extra flour if needed a tablespoon at a time.
- Slowly stir in milk and let simmer, make sure you don't increases the heat because the milk will separate.
- Stir frequently until mixture thickens.
- Ladle over biscuits and serve.
- If you can find a low fat breakfast sausage roll or don't care about fat content, you can skip the turkey, pork, seasoning and syrup and follow the recipe from the wheat flour on, taste for salt and pepper.
Now you may be wondering what the other gravy could be. It’s not a Southern staple, it is an Arkansas thing and it is called, chocolate gravy. Here in the Natural State biscuits with chocolate gravy are served as a breakfast treat but I also like it for dessert. I had a friend of mine come visit from Texas, we were at an old mill in Northwest Arkansas and she saw packages of chocolate gravy mix, “What is chocolate gravy?” she asked, told her it was an Arkansas thang. She ended up buying two packages to take back home with her.
For my healthier chocolate gravy I use cacao powder instead of cocoa powder. What’s the difference? Cacao is processed by cold-pressing unroasted cocoa beans which preserves the living enzymes and removes the fat. Cacao looks similar to cocoa and can be used the same way the only difference is that cacao tends to be a bit more on the bitter side, like a bitter sweet chocolate so when using it as a cocoa replacement in baking and some cooking, sweeteners need to be upped a bit to compensate. I whisk the cacao powder, whole wheat flour with agave nectar, vanilla extract and milk over low heat until the sauce thickens and then you spoon it over warm biscuits . . . slurp!
- 2 tablespoons grass fed cow butter
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole milk
- In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, whisk butter and flour until well blended and thick.
- Add remaining ingredients and whisk continuously until cacao breaks down and no clumps appear.
- Allow gravy to cook until it thickens, about 10 minutes.
- Spoon over biscuits and serve.
So I have covered the gravies but neglected to address the one thing both gravies have in common . . . biscuits. These are not totally whole wheat biscuits, they are cut with self rising flour because whole wheat flour on its own is too dense and the resulting biscuits would be hockey pucks. Salt, baking powder, a small amount of grass fed butter and buttermilk are added, mixed, then rolled out and cut into biscuits and baked. 
I prefer to just cut the rolled out dough into squares or rectangles, you can certainly cut them into round biscuits or any shape you like but in doing so you create more work for yourself from rekneading the dough and rolling it out again to use up all the dough.
- 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1-1/2 cups self rising flour
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons grass fed cow butter
- 1-1/3 cups lowfat buttermilk
- extra flour for dusting
- nonstick spray
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl mix all dry ingredients, you can do this by hand or can do in standing mixer with paddle attachment.
- Gradually add buttermilk a 1/3 of a cup at a time and work into dry ingredients, still using the paddle attachment to standing mixer at low speed or manually with your hands.
- Keep mixing until dough forms a ball and it is not sticky to the touch, add extra whole wheat flour a tablespoon at a time if needed.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to just over 1/4" thick.
- Using a sharp knife, cut into 10 equal squares or rectangles, alternatively you can use a biscuit or cookie cutter for shapes if you prefer.
- Place biscuits about an inch a part on baking sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Place in oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden on top.
© 2017, Healthy Southern Cooking. All rights reserved.