Country Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

An avid outdoorsman, Indianapolis-based chef Neal Brown loves cooking over the open flame of a campfire to impart a rustic flavor to dishes.

“The little bit of char, deep caramelized flavor and exposure to smoke just adds to something that is already delicious,” Brown says. “This is a great campfire meal. I bake the biscuits in a Dutch oven and the gravy in a cast-iron skillet.”

Country Biscuits with Sausage Gravy

Yields: 6 servings

Biscuits

500 grams all-purpose flour170 grams frozen unsalted butter31 grams granulated sugar23 grams baking powder6 grams salt485 grams cold whole milk1 egg, beaten

Sausage Gravy

1 lb country-style (breakfast) sausage, casings removed, if necessary¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting2½ cups whole milk1½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste1 tsp brown sugarcrushed red pepper flakes, to tasteground dried sage, to tastesalt, to tastesliced green onions, optional

Prepare Biscuits: In large bowl, add flour; freeze 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, use large holes of box grater to grate butter, then freeze.

Add sugar, baking powder and salt to chilled flour and stir until well mixed. Add milk and stir until combined.

With fingertips, food processor with knife blade attached or pastry cutter, rub butter into flour mixture until pebbly texture forms; chill 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450°F. To make biscuits, on lightly floured surface, roll dough into 1-inch-thick rectangle; fold rectangle crosswise in half and rotate dough with one-quarter turn. Repeat rolling, folding and rotating process 4 times. (If kitchen or countertop is warm, you may need to chill dough after the third fold about 10 minutes.)

With 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 6 biscuits and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Lightly brush top of biscuits with egg. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until browned on top.

While biscuits bake, prepare Sausage Gravy: Preheat large skillet over medium heat; add sausage and cook until browned, breaking up into small pieces with side of spoon. With slotted spoon, transfer sausage to plate. Add flour to drippings in skillet; cook 3 to 4 minutes to make a roux, stirring constantly with whisk. Stir in milk; heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Return sausage to gravy, then stir in black pepper and brown sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes, sage and salt to taste.

Split each warm biscuit in half and place on plate; top with a generous portion of sausage gravy and green onions to serve.