Biscuits and Gravy for a Crowd

Scaling sausage gravy up is not simply a matter of doubling everything. A big batch takes longer to brown, thickens differently and, worst of all, has to sit and wait while people arrive. This version is built for that, made slightly loose, held in a low oven and loosened again just before serving. It feeds twelve without anyone standing at the hob at the last minute.

Ingredients

Makes about 2 litres, enough for twelve split scones

• 900g (2lb) pork sausage meat skinned plain pork or Cumberland sausages, browned in two batches
• 50g (2oz) butter to top up the fat if needed
• 2 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 90g (3¼oz) plain flour
• 1.7 litres (3 pints) whole milk warmed, plus another 300ml for loosening later
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper plus more at the table
• 24 plain savoury scones warmed and split, two per person
• salt to taste

Kit

• Large heavy casserole or stock pot
• Wooden spoon
• Large balloon whisk
• Ovenproof dish
• Ladle

Method

1. Brown the sausage meat in two batches in a large heavy casserole over a medium high heat, about eight minutes each. Doing it all at once drops the pan temperature and you get grey steamed meat instead of brown crumbs. Return both batches to the pan.

2. Stir in the sage and chilli flakes and cook for a minute. Check the fat. You want roughly six tablespoons in a pan this size, so add the butter if the sausage has run lean.

3. Scatter over the flour and stir it through until every crumb is coated and no dry flour is left. Cook this for a full three minutes over a medium heat, longer than you would for a small batch, stirring right into the corners.

4. Add 500ml of the warm milk and whisk hard until smooth. In a big pan the flour needs more working than in a small one, so take your time over this first addition.

5. Add the remaining 1.2 litres in three or four goes, whisking each one in. Bring the whole thing slowly to a gentle simmer, which will take a good ten minutes in a pan this size.

6. Simmer for twelve to fifteen minutes, stirring every couple of minutes and scraping the base with a flat spoon so nothing catches. Aim for a gravy a shade looser than you want on the plate, because it will keep thickening.

7. Season with the black pepper and taste for salt. Pour it into a warmed ovenproof dish, cover with foil and hold it in a low oven at 100C (fan 80C, gas ¼) for up to an hour.

8. Just before serving, whisk in the reserved 300ml of warm milk a little at a time until it flows properly again. Ladle it over split warm scones and put a pepper mill on the table.

Tips worth knowing

• Brown the meat in two batches. It is the single most common mistake when scaling this up and it costs you almost all the flavour.
• A big batch thickens far more as it stands than a small one does, so make it deliberately loose and hold back 300ml of milk to bring it back at the end.
• Hold the gravy in the oven rather than on the hob. A pan on a low ring will still catch at the base and a scorched patch will flavour the whole dish.
• British scones are the right stand in for American biscuits, but make them without sugar and without fruit, and use buttermilk if you can. Two per person is the right count.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge in a covered container and reheats well in a low oven with plenty of extra milk whisked in. It freezes for two months in portions, though it needs a hard whisk and a splash of milk to come back smooth.

Questions people ask