Savory Sausage Gravy over Buttermilk Biscuits - Crème Fraîche for Breakfast - Day 29 of 30 #CremeFast

Sawmill Sausage Gravy Over Buttermilk Biscuits |
Adapted from Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with Biscuits @ www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

For the Gravy:

• 2 sausage links, minced
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 3 tablespoons meadow butter (2 TB held in reserve)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons creme fraîche

For the Buttermilk Biscuits:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 stick(4 ounces) of cold meadow butter
• 3/4 milk
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

Instructions:

Biscuits:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine milk and lemon juice, to make the buttermilk, and set aside. Mix flour, soda, salt, and sugar into a medium sized mixing bowl.
  
• Break the meadow butter up in the flour, working with your fingers, until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
  
• Mix in the buttermilk with a wooden spoon until combined. If too wet to work with dust in more flour.
  
• Transfer to a well floured surface to roll out the dough. Roll into a roughly 8"x11" rectangle. Then, fold the left 1/3 of the dough towards the center, followed by the right 1/3 towards the center. This is just like folding a letter to stuff into an envelope.
  
• Roll the dough back out to 8"x11", repeat folding process, and do this 4 or 5 times to develop a lot of flaky layers in your biscuits. Return the dough to the fridge to rest for 5 minutes to allow the gluten to relax, otherwise, as you attempt to roll the dough out to cut the biscuits, it will keep pulling back to a smaller size.
  
• Roll out the final dough to about 1/4" thick. Egg wash, into desired shapes, and place on the sheet pan.
  
• ​Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Gravy:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan on medium heat. Add onion, sausage, and thyme. Sauté until the sausage is lightly browned, about 4 minutes.
  
• Add the 2 tablespoons of reserve butter. Once melted, stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
  
• Add the milk and creme fraîche and stir until the roux is incorporated with the dairy products. Stir in more milk if you want a thinner consistency for the gravy.
  
• Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with additional sausage links.