Yeah, I agree with all of that. You mentioned cold butter, which I associate with thickening thin pan sauces. That’s the only reason I asked.
Yes, I meant sage. Not sure where the hell I got thyme from.
I start with a pound of medium-spicy breakfast sausage, usually Bob Evans or Jimmy Dean brand. I break it up and brown it in my 10" skillet along with a pat of butter, because sausage isn’t as fatty as it used to be. Then I sprinkle a heaping spoon of flour over it and stir till the flour gets absorbed. Then I pour milk in till the sausage crumbles are covered, and start grinding pepper. I grind till I’m sick of grinding. Then I put a little salt in, and then I start grinding pepper again. Usually by this point the gravy, and the Pillsbury Grands, are done. Breakfast time.
For a UK sausages with gravy, try this.
Here is my family’s secret ingredient: ketchup. Gross right, but just give it a try. Sprinkle some ketchup on top in dots, and stir it into the top of the gravy a bit. Makes it nice and tangy, and makes the gravy less bland.
Just wanted to chime in and say it’s interesting that everyone here says that removing the sausage is the best course for beginners.
When I was starting out as a sausage gravy/white sauce newbie, I did the remove the sausage thing and only recently started leaving it in the pan the whole time. I’m finding the stays-in-the-pan method much easier to make a flavorful sauce that can stretch farther (more milk) while retaining flavor.
I guess I was taking too much of the grease out of the pan along with the sausage, although I sort of squeezed it out as best I could.
Anyway, damn I want some biscuits and gravy now. 