The original southern white sausage gravy, served with whatever you like. Almost as good as they make in Ludiwic, Georgia. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
By Ray Reilly for Press Pros
In the truest tradition of American foolishness, some marketing mannequin convinced Cracker Barrel to forget about ‘taste’ for the sake of ‘taste’. I’ll share another idea of my own…about better-tasting gravy.
Like a lot of you, I imagine, I’m having a good laugh at Cracker Barrel administration trying to change the company branding to appeal to a younger market.
Apparently, the image of an older man sitting with his legs crossed beside a barrel sends the wrong message to contemporary culture. And who’d want that…older people who enjoy wholesome environment, good food, and relaxing conversation after dinner?
I’ve got news for the brains at Cracker Barrel, and that is young people don’t eat there, anyway. It’s too country, or too southern, and the term ‘cracker’ can’t be a good representation of what you find inside. So clean up the image, and pitch the older clientele who come there for good food and a relaxing experience to the curb.
But I’ve got another idea about Cracker Barrel, and one of my favorite items on the menu…something they watered down years ago for the sake of high blood pressure and heart health.
Coverage of the outdoors on Press Pros is proudly sponsored by Olde English Outfitters, in Tipp City.
I’m a gravy eater. Love the stuff…white, brown, red (ham, or red-eye gravy)…it doesn’t matter. Gravy is a taste condiment that goes with a whole lot more than mashed ‘taters. And one of my favorites is what Bob Evans has sold for years and called, sausage gravy. Cracker Barrel, which came along after Bob Evans, adopted a variation of their own, only a different color, and have served it since 1969. The Cracker Barrel chain is older, actually, but the original Bob Evans Restaurant opened in Gallipolis, Ohio back in the 40s.
But neither serves the original recipe for sausage gravy, and I’m going to share it with you here…one of my favorites, soon to be one of yours if you like simple, tasty comfort food – good in the morning, at noon, and at night.
Years ago, on a fishing trip outside of Ludiwici, Georgia, I had breakfast in a local diner, and I knew when I got out of the car that I wanted whatever I smelled coming out of the kitchen vent. I sat down at the counter and told the waitress, “I want whatever that is that I smell.”
“It’s sausage gravy and biscuits, with a side of ham,” she said. “We sell a lot of it.”
It was heavenly, even a bit spicey, and nothing like what Bob Evans and Cracker Barrel now sell. You could actually taste the salt in it, a no-no in modern heart-healthy diets, and I’ve never been able to doctor the Cracker Barrel version up to taste anywhere like it.
Another favorite…hot pepper red-eye gravy served with ham steak.
“It’s the recipe,” said the cook, a fellow named Ray (it figures) that looked liked he ate his own gravy three times a day. “You have to cook it down, the grease from the meat, the flour, milk, salt and pepper…it all has to come together. And I like to use a sage sausage. Some use a hot pepper variety.”
And here’s how he made it…and how I make it now.
I use Jimmy Dean’s hot pork sausage…about six patties in an iron skillet, fried ’til done and the grease has rendered out to cover the bottom of the skillet. And don’t worry, the more grease the better the gravy.
Next, I mix two tablespoons of white flour with two cups of milk. This gives it that familiar white color, and stir it up good until it’s almost a pasty texture.
Next, I pour the flour and milk mixture into the hot skillet of grease and start stirring so the milk and flour doesn’t lump. It will quickly begin to thicken, so have another half cup of milk ready to mix in.
I add a teaspoon of salt to the mixture, continually stirring until the flour taste is gone. If necessary, add a bit more salt with a shaker until you can’t taste the flour.
Then I mix in about a half teaspoon of ground black pepper and continue to stir.
The mixture will continue to thicken so you probably add another bit of milk, this time a bit less than before, and continue to stir.
Cook at about 1/3 maximum heat, and continue to stir until the grease on top of the gravy begins to disappear…it’s cooking into the gravy. If it continues to thicken too much, add more milk.
Continue to taste to gauge the mixture of the peppery sage taste, the salt, and black pepper…and if one of the three is too much again add a bit of milk and continue to stir. If there’s too little salt or pepper, you might add a pinch of whatever it takes to suit your taste.
It’s important that you continue to cook on low heat for about fifteen minutes, continuing to turn the heat down as it cooks so as not to overcook the milk.
And that’s all there is to it. You’ll know when it’s done, and you’re going to like all that flavor and goodness that your doctor has told you not to eat for years.
And, I might add, that I don’t eat this every day, or week, or even every month. I usually save it for a cold, rainy day for a comfort food meal that nothing else can replace.
I might also share that this same recipe works great with good hamburger, a version of the popular country fried steak entree that you can get at Cracker Barrel or Bob Evans.
And if you’re ever near Ludiwici, Georgia, by all means stop at the diner on the highway there and enjoy. That’s all I can tell you.
‘Til next time, I’ve enjoyed it.
Olde English Outfitters proudly sponsors coverage of the outdoors on Press Pros Magazine.com.