Back Country Biscuits & Gravy

Single skillet recipe for your cast iron cravings

When it comes to cooking, you just can't beat an old fashioned, single-skillet meal. Whether you're baking in the back country, or a time-starved chef in an apartment high-rise, there's no denying "simpler is better".

We leaned on our favorite cast-iron cooking aficionado, Jalet Farrell for a quick, hearty meal that can be prepared in a single cast iron skillet. She didn't disappoint. We're certain this recipe will become your go-to, stick-to-the-ribs meal when you're in a hurry, or just relaxing deep in the woods next to an early morning campfire.

Single Skillet Biscuits and Gravy

Sausage Gravy

• 1 Lb Sausage (we used a mix of sweet Italian and regular sausage)
• 1/3 Cup Krusteaz pancake mix
• 1 Qt whole milk
• 1 Cup buttermilk
• Salt
• Coarse Ground Pepper
• Garlic Seasoning
• Paprika
• Sugar

Directions:

Combine sausage with a 1 tsp of coarse ground pepper, 1/2 tsp of garlic seasoning, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp paprika and a tablespoon of white sugar in a 12" cast iron skillet. Place over a medium to high heat and brown the sausage. Be careful not to stir too much - we like to keep those big, meaty chunks of sausage in our gravy.

If you haven't already, start pre-heating your oven to 400 F.

When the sausage is browned it's time to sprinkle in the pancake mix and stir until the meat is thoroughly coated.

After the pancake mix, slowly add in the milk, stirring frequently so it doesn't scorch in the pan. After the milk is stirred in, slowly add in the buttermilk.

Let the sausage gravy simmer and thicken for a few minutes, then place on the top rack of the oven while you quickly make your buttermilk biscuits.

Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 1/2 Cups Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix
• 1/3 Cup cold whole milk
• 1/3 Cup cold butter
• 1/3 Cup shredded cheese
• 1 egg

Directions:

Place the 2 1/2 cups of pancake mix into a large mixing bowl. Make a small well in the center of the pancake mix and crack an egg into it. Sprinkle cheese and crumble the cold butter over the top of the pancake mix. Slowly stir in milk until the mix begins to clump and become sticky.

Knead the mix in the bowl, but only enough until the dough can hold itself together in a ball. Go easy on the mixing and kneading. The big secret to fluffy biscuits is to work less, and work quick.

Once the biscuit dough is ready, spread a tea towel on a cutting board and sprinkle a small handful of pancake mix around the center of the tea towel. Press out your dough by hand (don't roll it) to about 1/2" thick and cut 10 biscuits from the dough with a 3" water glass.

Grab your skillet from the oven and arrange your biscuits on top of the gravy.

Put the whole affair back into the oven on the middle rack and bake until the biscuits are golden brown or sound hollow when you tap on them with the handle of a butter knife.

Pull from the oven, garnish with cilantro, peppers, onions or bacon - you can never go wrong with bacon!

Be sure to take a photo of your one-skillet-wonder and post it to Facebook or Instagram #coastalkitchen. We'd love to see it!

Have you got a favorite recipe you'd like to see us cook up in the Coastal Kitchen? Don't hesitate to send us a note, we'd love to hear from you. Contact Coastal here.