Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Bacon Gravy

Biscuits

Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 2 Tbsp. shortening
- 2 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 pinches of salt
- 1 cup cold buttermilk

Kitchen:
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Large work area
- Wax Paper or Parchment paper
- Flour for dusting
- Drinking glass or large biscuit cutter
- Cookie Sheet
- Rolling Pin (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (be quick about it, or the fats will melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough should be sticky with the consistency of super-thick paste.

Lay out Parchment paper onto your working surface and dust with flour. Drop dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. If you're using a rolling pin, top dough with another sheet of parchment paper and roll dough into a 1-inch thick round.

Cut out biscuits with floured cutter or drinking glass, being sure to push straight down through the dough, and wiggle a little to loosen them up, but not bunch up the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting.

Bake until biscuits are tall and golden on top, about 16 to 20 minutes.


Sausage and Bacon Gravy

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. mild or hot sausage
- 6 slices thick cut bacon
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 4-5 pinches of salt
- Pepper to taste

Kitchen:
- Large Cast Iron or Aluminum Skillet
- Wisk
- Large Kitchen Knife Sharpened
-Large mixing bowl

Directions:
Put skillet over medium heat.
Cut up bacon into 1" squares, and brown in hot skillet for 3-4 minutes, continually stirring, until bacon is golden but not crispy. Add sausage, and brown. Once Sausage/Bacon is completely browned, transfer from the skillet to the mixing bowl. Turn heat down to medium low.

There should be about 3-4 tablespoons of grease and little bits of meat remaining in the skillet. Sprinkle flour, a spoonful at a time, wisking it into the grease until it's bubbling and starting to brown. It should thicken but still be liquid. (If you add too much flour, it will clump up and burn. Add some shortening, about a tsp at a time if this happens.) As the flour thickens to the point where it starts to clump a little, turn up the heat and add the heavy cream, wisking quickly as you pour.

Wisk and let the mix start to thicken again, and add the milk slowly, wisking vigorously. (you may not need all the milk, and you may need more) Add salt and pepper. If the gravy doesn't start bubbling within 1 minute, turn up the heat until it does. Let it bubble and thicken, and add the sausage and bacon back into the gravy and incorporate completely. Remove from heat and serve over the buttermilk biscuits.