I have always loved biscuits and gravy, but have had a difficult time making a good batch myself. It has never been an issue with the biscuit, but always the gravy. This was the first time that I was happy with how the gravy ended up, which is convenient because it was one of my last meals before my two months of vegetarianism. To learn how I made the gravy, click for more.
The first step to making a gravy is to get the fat. Cook whatever meat (I used a maple sage sausage) that you are adding to the gravy and drain the fat into a container. Add milk until you have one cup of liquid. Add a tablespoon of flour or corn starch. As I've recently found the magic of corn starch, that was what I chose. Add any spices that you wish. I added ground sage and freshly ground pepper. Mix liquid and add back to the meat.
I think that the mistake that I've been making for so many years is not allowing enough time to let the liquid turn into a sauce. So I would add more flour. Then it was too thick. So I added more milk. Then it was too runny. By the time I got it to the correct consistency, it tasted like floury milk. This time was different. While the liquid is runny, after about four or five minutes, the corn starch works its magic and starts to thicken the sauce.
To go with the gravy, I like to make drop biscuits. I think that this allows for more textural contrast as I eventually crumble up the biscuits anyways. To make drop biscuits, simply add an extra cup of milk to the batter. When it is time to form the biscuit just throw it unformed onto a greased cookie sheet. Whenever I eat biscuits and gravy, I think of my dad. I am not exactly sure why, though. I don't remember it being a food that he made a lot when I was a kid, but I know that it is a food that he likes. Maybe it just represents the general style of food that he made for me. Regardless, a good biscuit and gravy is hard to beat.
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