Is There A Difference Between Country And Sausage Gravy?

There are many similarities, and one significant difference, between country and sausage gravy. Both sauces use milk as a liquid base and flour as a thickener, but the real kicker is where each one gets its fat. Country gravy uses butter and sausage gravy uses the fat released from the meat as it cooks.

Knowing how to make a roux is key to both recipes. This classic French thickening agent is employed in everything from sausage gravy to béchamel sauce and is one of the most useful cooking tools to have in your repertoire. Heat up a liquified fat such as melted butter, bacon grease, lard, or olive oil, mix in an equal amount of flour, and toast the resulting paste in the pan to remove the taste of raw flour. For these two recipes, milk is gradually whisked into the pan with the roux after it's finished. Remember, adding too much liquid too quickly is one of the most common mistakes everyone makes when cooking gravy.

While only country gravy uses a true roux, one made from melted butter and flour, its sausage variety is, in effect, a subset of it. Flour is sprinkled over the cooked meat and oil, and mixed to form a chunky paste before adding the milk. Think of a roux-using country gravy as the parent of sausage gravy. The original butter and flour roux has been adapted many times over to incorporate all forms of oil and fat a chef may want to use.

If you find your gravy lacks flavor, there are a couple of surefire ways to reliably introduce more taste. Garlic and onion powder are staples of most kitchens and a little bit goes a long way with any recipe. When dried and ground to a powder, and added after the milk, a combo of sage, rosemary, and thyme creates a robust herbal sauce that pairs excellently with basic mashed potatoes. Paprika, cayenne, and cracked black pepper are all standard additions to a Southerner's country gravy, providing a little bit of kick and a whole lot of flavor.

Have you ever had fried chicken and wondered why the gravy is so good? The answer is zero waste. Chefs who make fried chicken reserve the leftover flour used to batter the chicken and a few tablespoons of oil, plus all the crispy bits at the bottom of the pot, to make theirs. Simply drain all but a minimal amount of the oil, stir in an equal amount of batter flour, toast your roux until just before it bubbles, then incrementally add milk to make fried chicken-flavored gravy.

Country gravy is already vegetarian, but what if you want something with a little extra protein and texture? Plant-based sausage serves as an admirable substitution for pork or beef varieties, provided it has enough fat to form a roux. You can still add fat with butter or oil, or even forgo imitation meat entirely and use something like tofu or beans.