A Version of My Mom's Country Gravy

I made a different version of my Mom's Country Sausage Gravy today using Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage, 1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt, left out the cheese and instead of using all black pepper, I used some red pepper.

If I make this version again, I would cut down on the amount of red pepper as it was very hot or include the 1/2 shredded cheddar that would have mellowed out the pepper.  I think the Sage in the sausage gave it a bit more savory flavor, but you could probably add teaspoon of Sage to any sausage and get a similar flavor.

• 1 lb Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage (or other sausage and add 1 tsp Sage)
• 4 TBSP butter (just enough so the flour will coat the sausage)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
• 1/3 cup flour 
• 3 cups milk 

When my Mom taught me this recipe she said the secret to making a good sausage or other meat gravy is to use the fat/grease that is left in the pan from cooking, add additional butter if needed, and pour the flour in with the meat and fat to coat the fat and there will be no lumps in your gravy.

Sometimes the butter is optional if there is high fat content in the sausage, but in this case there was not any visible, although the sausage was nicely browned and absorb some of the flour on its own.

When I was a practicing vegetarian, I omitted the meat but as there is not anything to coat the flour, you have to melt the butter add in the flour a little at a time and add in the milk a little of time, so it is a little more labor intensive, but still good.

Basic steps:

• Fry the meat, breaking it into small piece until completely brown
• Add in butter and melt stirring in to the sausage
• Add in the flour and pepper
• Slowly add in the milk stirring constantly.
• Cook on medium to medium high heat until the mixture thickens up - usually 5-7 minutes.

Another trick if you need to make the batch a little larger batch but you are almost done (my Mom used to babysit and some times would have "drop ins" for just a day or so)  is to add more milk and a bit of mashed potato flakes to help thicken up the batch.

You can also freeze this for a few weeks and it heat up fairly well, although you will probably need to add a little more milk when reheating.