Biscuits & Gravy & Eggs Extraordinaire

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour (all-purpose or soft flour, sifted)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (regular table salt, not kosher)
• 2 tablespoons butter, very cold
• 1 tablespoon butter flavor shortening, very cold
• 1 tablespoon lard, very cold (yes, lard! or shortening, if you're chicken)
• 1 cup buttermilk (chilled in freezer 15-20 minutes)
• 2 tablespoons butter (salted, melted)
• 12 ounces lamb sausage (jimmy dean regular bulk, not links)
• 7 slices bacon (applewood smoked or other hardwood-smoked)
• 4 cups milk (not skim)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 -4 tablespoons flour
• salt & pepper
• 8 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk or 2 tablespoons half-and-half cream or 2 tablespoons cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Recipe

• 1 to save time, make gravy the night before, and let flavors meld. that way, all you have to do in the morning are the biscuits and eggs 8-).
• 2 gravy: on medium (not high) heat, crumble and sauté sausage – remove to plate.
• 3 on medium heat, gently brown bacon – remove to plate & crumble.
• 4 in same pan, keep about 3 tablespoons of the rendered drippings from sausage & bacon. add butter to melt.
• 5 make roux by adding 3 tablespoons of flour to start with, add 1-2 tablespoons more if you feel you need it. slowly, whisk in cream then milk. gently bring to a simmer for several minutes to thicken. stir in crumbled sausage and bacon. add a little salt, and plenty of pepper, to taste. (can put in fridge for morning now). makes 5 cups.
• 6 biscuits: preheat oven to 450°.
• 7 in a large, chilled mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. using two knives in a scissor-like fashion (or a pastry cutter), cut in the fats into the dry ingredients. make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. stir just until the dough comes together. the dough will be very sticky.
• 8 turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. press into a 1-inch thick round. cut out biscuits with a 2- or 3-inch cutter, (i use a ½ cup measuring cup) being sure to push straight down through the dough (do not twist on the way down!).
• 9 immediately place biscuits on a clay baking sheet, sprayed with pam, so that they just touch, “shoulder-to-shoulderâ€?- they’ll rise better, and not get too brown. you don’t want to give them a chance to rise, until they hit the oven. gently reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting.
• 10 bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes. brush tops with melted butter. makes about 9 two to three-inch biscuits.
• 11 eggs: crack the eggs into a bowl. add the cream and whisk until the eggs look foamy and light. heat a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. melt the butter until it foams, and then turn the heat down to low and slowly pour in the eggs.
• 12 using a heat resistant rubber spatula, slowly stir the eggs from the outside of the pan to the center. once the eggs begin to set, stirring slowly will create large, cloud-like curds. season with salt & pepper.
• 13 serve: split a biscuit. dot with butter. either place scrambled eggs, then gravy, or - as i do, gravy first, and fluffy eggs on top.