The year was 2016, and as per the usual, we had summer interns. One of the interns was married, and he’d brought his wife – his beautiful wife who turned out to be my saving grace, my protege, my editor, and my Destiny.
Okay – that last part is a joke. But really, her name is Destiny, and I think it’s fun to call her “my Destiny”.
I had so much fun that summer taking her under my wing, showing her around the kitchen, and teaching her everything I know about ranch life. We truly made the perfect team. I love to cook, and she loves to clean up.
But one night we reversed the roles a bit. Kord (her husband) clued us in that Des had a divine recipe for biscuits that we must try. So, we did. And Kord wasn’t wrong. The biscuits – they were heavenly.
We ended up trying them a variety of ways – slathered in butter, covered in honey, and drenched in ground beef gravy. And we concluded that there just isn’t a wrong way to eat them.
Don’t forget the rules of food safety! Here is the short list:
- Always wash your hands before and after handling raw meat.
- Never thaw meat on the counter. Thaw in the refrigerator, microwave, or cool water bath.
- Always wash cutting boards and plates after having been in contact with raw meat.
- Always cook to appropriate internal temperatures. Safe internal temperatures vary based on cut. Hamburger must reach a safe and savory 160 degrees, while steak is safe at 145 degrees.
Biscuits and Gravy
- Prep Time: 20
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
For Biscuits
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup sugar (I typically use just a little less)
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup cold butter
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup milk
For Gravy
- 1 pound ground beef (I use 85/15 for the fat)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper (more if you’d like)
- 1/3 cup flour
- 4 cups milk
Instructions
For the Biscuits
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- See the first step in making the gravy. 😉
- Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Cut in the butter (see the note for a hot tip). Add the egg, pour in the milk, and stir together until the dough is combined.
- At this point, if you like your biscuits a little more on the rustic side, you can flour your hands and form the dough into balls. But if you like flaky layered biscuits, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll out to about 1/2″ thickness, fold the dough over, and roll out to a 1/2″ thickness. Repeat the process, dusting the counter with flour as needed, 6 (ish) times, using a biscuit cutter or a glass turned upside down to cut out your biscuits.
- Place your biscuits (balls or cutouts) on a lightly greased baking sheet. Put them in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Take them outta the oven and let them cool for just a bit while you finish up your gravy.
For the Gravy
- Put the ground beef to a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder, sage, salt, and pepper over the ground beef. Mix it together until thoroughly combined, and voila, now you have ground beef sausage. 😉 Cover the sausage and set it aside in the refrigerator while you mix up your biscuits.
- Once your biscuits are in the oven, take the sausage out of the fridge and cook it in a large skillet (I use my big daddy 12″ skillet) over medium high heat for about 8-10 minutes or until browned. Do not drain the sausage – you need the fat.
- Add in the flour, cook and stir until the ground beef is evenly coated. Pour the milk into the skillet stirring constantly until the gravy begins to thicken up and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and keep warm until serving.
- Cut a biscuit or two in half, place them on a plate, pour a good spoonful (or two) of gravy over top, and enjoy!
Notes
I forego cutting my butter in because, let’s face it cutting in cold butter is no fun. Instead I run it over my cheese grater, throw it in the mix, give it a toss, and away we go. It works beautifully.
Hello! I’m Terryn – the wife, mother, food safety enthusiast, Stormy Kromer fanatic who has slightly (okay, a lot) random tendencies, dabbles in photography, and shares (maybe a little too much) here at FFB.