Sawmill Gravy [Sausage Gravy]
Learn how to make sawmill gravy in minutes. Simple and easy to prepare, this creamy sausage gravy is a breakfast staple in the South.
Visit any breakfast spot below the Mason-Dixon line and more than likely whatever you order will come with a side of grits and gravy. Many Southern dishes are rooted in providing a filling meal without a lot of ingredients or money. Sawmill gravy is no exception.
What is sawmill gravy and why is it called that?
In its most basic form, sawmill gravy is a white cream gravy made from pan drippings (usually leftover grease from sausage or bacon), flour, and milk. Its origin dates back early American logging camps. Originally the gravy was made with cornmeal instead of flour. It was thick and course and the loggers used to accuse the cooks of substituting the cornmeal for sawdust.
You may be more familiar with its derivative – Southern sausage gravy – which has pieces of cooked breakfast sausage mixed in. It’s commonly served over biscuits. This dish, known as biscuits and gravy, is a Southern breakfast staple.
How to make sawmill gravy
If you can master biscuit making, then throwing together a creamy pan of gravy should be no problem. Drippings from a recently fried pan of breakfast sausage or bacon (I never said this was healthy) are preferred. Be sure to keep an eye on the gravy and stir, stir, stir. Once you add your liquid, it will begin to thicken rapidly.
Start by cooking ½ pound (8 ounces) of roll breakfast sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Break up sausage into pieces with a spoon and cook until it is no longer pink. Remove sausage from the skillet. Be sure to reserve 2-3 tablespoons of grease.
If there isn’t enough grease from the sausage, I’ll add a little bacon grease to the pan. I keep a jar of bacon grease in my fridge. Doesn’t everyone? If you don’t, that’s okay. Use some cooking oil instead.
Add three tablespoons of flour to the grease, one tablespoon at a time. Whisk between each addition to combine the flour with grease and remove any lumps. Cook for 2-3 minutes to remove any raw flour taste, but you don’t want your flour to brown.
Gradually add 1-1 ½ cups of milk, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken to desired consistency. I like to use whole milk for a creamier taste and texture, but skim or reduced fat milk will also work.
If the gravy starts to thicken too quickly, reduce the heat to medium low or low and add more milk, a little at a time, to thin it out. Stir the reserved sausage back into the pan.
I’ve received comments that there is too much sausage in the gravy shown in the picture. Y’all, this is how my family likes their gravy. If you don’t like that much sausage in your gravy, then by all means use less sausage. No need for drama.
Once you’ve added the sausage, season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste. The sausage itself is pretty salty, so you may not require much additional seasoning.
If you timed it right, your homemade buttermilk biscuits should be ready to come out of the oven just as you finish stirring the gravy. Pile a biscuit or two (or twelve) onto a plate, pour the hot gravy over top, and dig in.
How to store leftover sawmill gravy
Leftover sausage gravy needs to be refrigerated within two hours in a lidded, airtight container and eaten within four days. The gravy will continue to thicken, so you will likely need to thin it out by whisking in some additional milk as you reheat it.
Because sawmill gravy is cream-based, it does not freeze well. It will separate and become gritty.
Related Recipes:
Sausage Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork sausage
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 cups milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Break up sausage into pieces with a spoon and cook until it is no longer pink. Remove sausage from the skillet. Be sure to reserve any leftover grease.
- Add flour to the grease, one tablespoon at a time. Whisk between each addition to combine with grease and remove lumps. Reduce heat to medium.
- Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken to desired consistency.
- Stir sausage back into the pan.
- Season gravy with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot.
Cat head biscuits are biscuits baked in an iron skillet. It gives them the shape of a cat’s head.
Hi Oren,
The recipe was prepared the way MY family enjoys it. If you don’t like that much sausage in your gravy, feel free to adjust the recipe according to YOUR tastes.
I would never have thought that it was possible to say this, but that looks like it has too much meat in it. Maybe the sausage was really dry and there just wasn’t enough grease to make enough gravy to balance it out? Maybe you thought it would make a better picture this way? Who knows?
Okay?
I guess I just like the country gravy w/o the sausage in it, and on the side.
I don’t like the sawmill gravy. It has a good taste, but it’s too thick for my taste. I want the gravy to cover the biscuit, not just lay inert on top of it. It’s more like a hash.
True sawmill gravy is made with cornmeal, and when it sits and gets thick it looks like sawdust.