Smoked Biscuits and Gravy by Hey Grill Hey

What great American holiday family breakfast would be complete without a hearty serving of Biscuits and Gravy? There are so many wonderful ways to make it; light and fluffy, hearty and filling, spicy or sweet, it’s a flavor profile that can always use a tweak with creative ingredients. Hoping for a definitive pitmaster recipe, we turned to Susie Bulloch of Hey Grill Hey. She creates refined versions of classics that will please everyone from your grandma to competition BBQ judges. Are you ready to learn how she makes Smoked Biscuits and Gravy?

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Smoked Biscuits and Gravy Ingredients

1 ¾ cups buttermilk
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon iodized salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup salted butter (frozen, cubed)
1 additional Tablespoon salted butter (frozen, cubed)

Sausage Gravy Ingredients

1 pound pork sausage (spicy, if you like some kick)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon Hey Grill Hey Beef Rub

Smoked Biscuits and Gravy Cooking Instructions

Make flour mixture. Preheat your oven or smoker to 425 degrees F. In a large food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse to combine.

Add butter. Add 3/4 cups of frozen butter cubes to the food processor and pulse 8-10 times or until the butter is the size of small peas. If you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the frozen butter on a cheese grater and add it to the dry ingredients.

Add buttermilk. Remove the blade from the processor and gently mix in the buttermilk using a rubber spatula. Do not over-mix. Stir until a loose and soft dough forms.

Fold and cut dough. Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently knead 5 or 6 times. Lightly pad dough into a 12″ circle. Cut the dough into 12 or 16 biscuits with knife or biscuit cutter and lay them into a buttered skillet or baking dish.

Bake biscuits. Butter a 12″ cast iron skillet with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter. Place the skillet in your preheated oven (or smoker). Close the lid, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Brown sausage. While the biscuits bake, prepare the gravy. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage and break apart with a spatula. Cook until crumbly and browned on the edges with no pink.

Make gravy. Add the butter to the skillet, and stir until butter melts. Mix in the flour, using your spatula to coat the sausage with the flour and get rid of any clumps of flour. Pour the milk into the sausage mixture, and whisk vigorously, scraping the bottom of the skillet to loosen any browned pieces of cooked sausage, until there are no clumps of flour. Allow the gravy to come up to a boil to thicken, turn off the heat and stir in the Beef Rub or salt, pepper, and garlic.

Combine and enjoy. Remove the finished biscuits from the oven, and split apart while they are still slightly warm. Top with the sausage gravy and serve.

Pro Tips for Better Smoked Biscuits and Gravy

Susie already included everything you’ll need to make buttery, warm biscuits and creamy sausage gravy in this recipe. But if you want to up your game, here are a few tips to wow the guests at your next holiday get-together:

Use Paprika. This dish is going to taste amazing as is, but if there’s one thing biscuits and gravy lacks, it’s color. Sprinkling a little paprika on your served gravy allows you to add some enticing color to your dish without taking away from the flavor of the rich gravy or flaky biscuits.

Crispy edges make a more enticing texture. You can cook your biscuits to your preference and your finished product will still be delicious. This just gives your dish a nice crispy crunch.

Flaky salt. Finishing off everything with a sprinkling of flaky salt is one of Susie’s favorites with biscuits and gravy. The salt brings out all the amazing flavors in a whole new way. Plus, the extra large flakes add even more texture.

Susie uses a spicy sausage for this recipe. A good hot Italian sausage or other spicy option is a great way to give your gravy a boost in flavor with no extra work for you.