Estate Comforts
Chicken Biscuits with White Sausage Gravy
The Strategy:
Nothing says love like warm, flaky buttermilk biscuits topped with crispy, cornflake-crusted chicken and rich sausage gravy. Elevate this comfort classic by drizzling it with a sweet and spicy hot pepper maple syrup right before placing the biscuit top. It is a stunning blend of savory, sweet, and spicy flavors that will have everyone asking for seconds.
Ingredients
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- Canola oil for frying
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup cornflake crumbs
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces, plus 2 tablespoons butter melted for the tops
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound ground pork sausage
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter, ½ stick
- 4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Plop the chicken into a re-sealable plastic bag. Pour in the buttermilk. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Heat canola oil in a deep skillet to 350°.
- Place one cup of flour into a shallow bowl.
- Whisk the eggs with a tablespoon of water in a second bowl.
- Whisk together the remaining flour, cornflake crumbs and seasonings in a third shallow bowl.
- Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and shake off any excess liquid. Dredge each piece of chicken into the flour, then into the egg wash and finally into the cornflake coating. Lay the chicken into the hot oil and cook until golden on one side, about 5 minutes. Use tongs to turn the chicken and cook on the second side until golden, about 5 minutes more.
- Transfer the chicken onto a rack, set into a baking tray.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of a food processor.
- Add the 6 tablespoons of chilled butter.
- Pulse on and off until the flour looks crumbly. With the machine running, pour in the buttermilk and pulse until the dough just comes together. Dump the dough onto a floured board or counter top.
- Pat the dough out to ¾-inch thickness. Use a 3-inch round biscuit cutter to cut out biscuits, blending scraps to form 6 to 8 biscuits.
- Transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet.
- Brush the tops with cream.
- Place the tray into the oven and bake until the biscuits are golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove the tray from the oven.
- Brush the biscuits with melted butter and sprinkle with salt and coarse black pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat.
- Add the sausage.
- Season with the onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
- Cook, breaking up any big clumps until browned, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the pork into a bowl.
- Whisk the butter and flour together in the skillet until golden and bubbling.
- Stir in the milk and cream.
- Bring the gravy to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Continue stirring until the gravy thickens.
- Stir the sausage back into the gravy.
- Add a Sunday spectacular dimension to this dish with a drizzle of spicy syrup.
- Combine 1 cup maple syrup with ¼ cup hot pepper sauce and 2 teaspoons nutmeg in a small pan.
- Bring to a boil; then reduce the temperature to simmer the sauce for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Split 6 biscuits in half.
- Place a piece of chicken on the bottom half.
- Spoon the sausage gravy over the chicken.
- Pour the syrup over the top of the chicken biscuit. OUTSTANDING!
- Place the biscuit top over the gravy.
- Store leftover gravy in an airtight container.
The full recipe lives in the Vault
Ingredients, step-by-step method, and every chef-tested detail are reserved for members of the Estate Registry.
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Gotta Have Gadgets
I cannot live without my food processor. It's the one appliance I keep out on the counter – even when company's coming. My favorite version of this gadget, allows you to tackle everyday cooking jobs, using interchangeable 16-cup, 13-cup, and 4 ½-cup work bowls; the bowls nest inside each other for easy storage. It has a wide mouth feed tube, so you don't need to do as much prep, plus blades for slicing, shredding, chopping and mixing. My beloved food processor has a dough blade for making dough, so I don't absolutely have to have a bread machine (though, I do!). Food processors with a smaller capacity work just fine, too. The take away advice here, is one food processor is better than NO food processor.
The Heart of the Table
This towering dish represents the heart of southern comfort, drawing everyone to the table with its irresistible savory aroma. The combination of crispy chicken, rich gravy, and sweet syrup evokes childhood memories, creating a warm, nostalgic mood of pure joy.
- a pair of professional-grade stainless steel locking kitchen tongs
- a well-seasoned 12-inch cast-iron skillet with dual pour spouts
- a seamless, high-heat resistant silicone spatula in a soft slate grey
- unbleached, pre-cut parchment paper sheets for clean releases
- a flexible stainless steel slotted turner with a walnut handle
Neighborly Grace
- THE PRESENTATION: Place the assembled chicken biscuits on a wooden paddle board, letting some of the rich sausage gravy and spicy syrup drip down the sides for a mouthwatering, rustic look.
- THE POUR: Serve with a tall glass of sweet iced tea with lemon wedges, or a rich chicory coffee with warm milk.
- THE VIBE: Sunday Dining Room. Sunlight streams through the windows, casting a warm glow on a table filled with laughter and stories of the week gone by.
