For More Flavorful Sausage Gravy, Change Up The Star Ingredient

Sausage gravy is rich, flavorful, and quite possibly the most beautiful sight on any breakfast table. From the Southern classic, biscuits and gravy, to fried bacon with sausage and onion gravy, its versatility as a topping is matched only by how easy it is to make. If you know how to make a roux, the process is almost identical and just as quick.

When loose sausage cooks, all its fat starts to melt down into a delicious oil. Some people strain that oil away and use the sausage for other recipes, but for gravy, you need to keep it in the pan. Sprinkle some flour over the meat and stir thoroughly to combine. You'll be left with a pasty mash of sausage and starch, which serves as the thickening base for the gravy. Gradually add milk to the pan and continue whisking and simmering until you're left with a creamy, meaty end result.

Since it consists of only three ingredients, there's plenty of room to experiment and shake things up, especially with the sausage. The star ingredient offers the most variety for taste, texture, and appearance, only requiring slight tweaks depending on the meat you use. The texture of your sausage, its oil content, and any additional seasonings are the biggest deciding factors for any changes you need to make to the recipe.

Mexican chorizo has enough heat to wake you up in the morning, and is so finely ground that the gravy becomes spicy, smooth, and slightly pink. Keep in mind that most Mexican chorizo is about 30% fat, so there will be a lot of oil in the pan. If you want a lower-fat option, try finding Spanish chorizo.

On the other end of the texture spectrum, you have chopped bratwurst. Bratwurst keeps its shape even without a casing, making for a hearty, chunky gravy that requires some chewing. But don't let that stop you. The rich flavors and snap of the meat create a wonderful schnitzel and biscuits with bratwurst gravy recipe.

For something truly unique, consider using maple sausage. The sweetness pairs well with biscuits, and even makes an admirable substitution for syrup on a savory stack of bacon-stuffed pancakes. Keep in mind that the added sugars in the sausage may burn at high temperatures, so keep a close eye on the pan while the sausage cooks.

Plant-based sausage is also a perfectly good choice, provided it has enough fat to make the roux. If it doesn't, you can add some butter or oil before sprinkling in the flour. Since this protein lacks the meatiness of pork or beef, you may want to consider adding extra seasonings. Onion and garlic powder add tons of flavor to both meat-based and meatless gravies. Herbs like sage and thyme are subtle but just strong enough to cut through the milk and flour.