Cream Gravy and Sausage Gravy

Here you go, Joan! This is one of those "a little of this and some of that" recipes that you keep in your head. I tried to figure out the amounts, but there's really no a set amount of anything, you just have to add "just enough" as you go. I've also talked about the causes of lumps and ways to avoid them, so it's kind of long, but that's SO important that I had to add it. For regular cream gravy you could use with chicken fried steak or mashed potatoes, just use regular cooking oil or butter instead of grease and leave out the sausage. Warning! Not for dieters! LOL! But perfect for that rainy Sunday when you're staying in.

Sausage Gravy
Before you begin, round up all of the following and have them within reach:

breakfast sausage
milk
flour
garlic powder
salt and pepper
fork
wire whisk

I make this in a big cast iron skillet with a nice wide bottom ~ perfect for this. Crumble and fry about a half lb. of your favorite breakfast sausage. Remove and reserve. You should have enough grease in the pan to just cover half of the bottom or a bit more. Turn the heat to medium. Start adding flour by sifting it slowly over the grease while stirring with the fork flat against the bottom of the pan (easier to mash the lumps out with a fork this way). Only add a little at a time, making sure to incorporate all of it into the grease before you add more. If you add it too fast, you may accidentally add too much and get lumps. What you are doing is making a roux (for those non-Cajuns, that's pronounced "roo"). Stop adding flour when it gets to the consistency of...um...well, a thick gravy. Cook the roux, stirring constantly still, 'til it turns a golden brown, only a shade or two darker than it was when you started ~ if you don't cook this enough, your gravy will taste like paste. When it's brown enough, grab that wire whisk, turn the heat on high, start whisking and begin adding milk a little at a time. This is where it gets tricky. If you add the milk too fast, it'll make the roux too cold and it'll kind of curdle into lumps ~ too slow and your gravy will thicken too soon and to the consistency of a really thick custard. Even if you try to save it, guess what? Yeah, you'll have lumps. I'm not sure how much milk I add ~ maybe 3 cups of milk total? After adding the milk, keep stirring until it thickens to the right consistency and turn off the heat. I like mine fairly thick so it stays on the biscuits better. If it ends up too thick for you, just add more milk 'til it's about right and turn off the heat just before it boils and thickens some more. Sprinkle about half a tsp. of garlic powder over the top and mix it in very well ~ you don't want to add enough garlic to run off vampires, just enough to give it that full-bodied taste, just like Pioneer from the envelope. If it doesn't taste like that add a little tiny bit more (1/4 tsp.?), mixing it in VERY WELL before you taste it again. You shouldn't even really be able to taste the garlic, just a really good rich gravy taste. Add salt and pepper to taste and the sausage if you're making sausage gravy.

The main tricks to making lump-free gravy are to not quit stirring until it's thickened and adding everything slowly. Adding things slowly gives you time to incorporate it well into the mix, keeps you from adding too much and will avoid major temperature swings. But if you add them too slow, you've still got problems ~ add flour too slow and you'll burn the roux, add the milk too slow and it'll thicken too soon and WA-A-A-A-AY too much. Practice this sometime when there's no one around to bother you. Using regular oil might be a good way to practice a couple times. If it turns out tasting like paste (and I mean REALLY like paste) ~ start over and try again, cooking the roux a little more. If it turns out lumpy, either strain the lumps or start over. You haven't wasted anything if either of the above happens as you can freeze it and use it as a cream soup base later. I've made some yummy turkey soup after Thanksgiving with this by adding chicken stock, diced turkey, chopped onions, peas and carrots.