TRADITIONAL VENISON BISCUITS AND SAUSAGE GRAVY

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Homemade Venison Biscuits and Gravy is one of those comfort food dishes that brings back memories of cool mornings relaxing at the house. Growing up in the foothills of the Southeastern United States, I pretty much ate biscuits every week, but serving them with gravy was usually a special occasion. So when there was sausage gravy on the table, it made breakfast time a pretty special moment.

This deliciously simple homemade breakfast can be on the breakfast table in about an hour or less. And if you want to save a little time as we all do, you can always use pre-made biscuit dough to cut your cooking time in half.

Photo by Larry White

5 Cooks Notes and Tips:

1. Grinding the Meat Yourself? If grinding the venison yourself, use a ratio of 11 ounces venison to 5 ounces pork back fat for the juiciest and most flavorful sausage. You can skip step number 1 in the sausage gravy directions by grinding all of the ingredients with the meat (except the cooking oil, milk, salt and pepper)

2. No Pork Fat in Your Sausage? You have the option of making this venison breakfast sausage with no pork fat or even a little less pork fat. Just keep in mind that any fat the you take out of the recipe, you will need to replace it with equal parts by weight of venison. And remember, the less fat in the sausage means the drier and less flavorful the final product will be.

3. Want Better Biscuits? In the south we have a saying that, your biscuits will only be as good as your ingredients, and that is the absolute truth. As with any simple food, your individual ingredients will shine, whether for better or for worse. Using high quality butter, buttermilk and flour will make a huge different in your biscuits. Whenever I can, I use local buttermilk, grass-fed butter and the all time classic White Lily Flour.
   

4. Want to Try a Different Venison Sausage for the Gravy? Try out my Maple Venison Breakfast Sausage Recipe. Simply weigh out one pound of the sausage for this recipe.

5. Storing Leftover Biscuits and Gravy: If you find yourself with leftover gravy, it will keep in the refrigerator for around 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months if properly stored. The Biscuits can be stored at room temperature for up to one day and frozen for up to one month without losing too much quality.

Looking for other wild game dishes? These are a few of my favorites:

Venison Breakfast Sausage

Venison Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Venison Poblano Boudin Sausage

Lastly, if you make this traditional Venison Maple Breakfast Sausage, be sure to leave a comment or tag me on Instagram! I thoroughly enjoy hearing feedback and checking out the photos of recipes that you've made.

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TRADITIONAL VENISON BISCUITS AND SAUSAGE GRAVY

Servings: 7 People

Total Biscuits: Makes 14 Three Inch Biscuits

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the Buttermilk Biscuits

• 3 1/3 cups self rising flour ( I like White Lily), Plus a little more for rolling

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold

• 1 1/2 cups full fat buttermilk, cold

For the Sausage Gravy

• 1 pound - ground venison (preferably with 20% to 30% pork fat in the grind)

• 1/2 of a sweet onion (chopped)

• 1/2 teaspoon - dried sage

• 1/2 teaspoon - dried thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon - red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon - kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon - brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon - black pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon - nutmeg

• 1/2 cup - all purpose flour

• 4.5 cups - whole milk

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil or bacon fat

DIRECTIONS

For the Homemade Biscuits

1. Cut the cold butter into about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch dice. Place in the freezer while you prep the rest of the ingredients or for around 10 minutes.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees F.

3. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking insert.

4. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and black pepper. Gently stir with a fork or spoon to fully incorporate.

5. Remove the butter from the freezer and add it to the bowl. Using your fingers work the butter into the flour until it resembles the size of green peas.

6. Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with a large spoon or spatula until the dough just comes together.

7. Lightly flour a kitchen work surface. Pour out the dough onto the work surface. Roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Fold the dough in half and roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness again. One final time, fold the dough in half to a thickness of 1/2". If the dough is a little too sticky during the rolling process, dust very lightly with a little flour.

8. For standard size biscuits, cut them out using a 3" round cutter (flour the cutter while working if needed). Gently press any scraps together to form one solid disk and cut out the remaining dough with the round cutter. Repeat as needed.

9. Place the biscuits in the refrigerator for 5 to 15 minutes to let the dough relax and chill.

10. Place the biscuits on two 10 inch cast iron skillets or bake them on your prepared baking sheet pan. The biscuits should all be slightly touching one another. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. The biscuits should have risen and be golden brown.
    

For the Venison Sausage Gravy

1. In a large bowl, stand mixer or food processor, place all of the ingredients (except the cooking oil, flour, milk, salt and pepper). Mix the ingredients together until thoroughly incorporated.

2. Heat a pot or a deep wide skillet over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil. Once the pan is hot, brown the sausage.

3. Drain the sausage, reserving around 2 tablespoons of the fat in the pot.

4. Add the sausage the back pot along with the flour.

5. Cook over medium low heat while constantly stirring for 1 minute. The flour should be thoroughly incorporated.

6. Slowly whisk in the milk and return to a simmer. Cook until it has thickened to your liking and season to taste with salt and pepper. If the gravy is too thick, thin it out with a little milk.

7. If you like a more pungent gravy, try adding in more herbs (dry or fresh), hot sauce or even a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

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