Sawmill Gravy (Paula Deen)

This is the best gravy I have ever tried. It is rich and creamy. One of the family members was reading Paula Deen's book and this recipe was in there. So we tried and all fell in love with it. Even the picky youngsters of the family, will eat this with biscuits. It is a heart attack waiting to happen. This is only cooked twice a year because it is so sinful. I don't even like sausage and I love eating this gravy.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 8-10
• Yields: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground sausage
• 4  slices bacon, diced
• 1⁄2  diced onion
• 2  minced garlic cloves
• 3  tablespoons flour
• 2  teaspoons black pepper
•  salt
• 2  cups half-and-half
• 2  tablespoons butter

Directions

1. On medium heat, heat up skillet for 1 to 2 minutes. Combine sausage, bacon, onion and garlic.
2. Put this mixture in pan hot pan. Break up sausage while cooking. Cook until sausage and bacon are browned.
3. Stir in flour, pepper, salt and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. This will make a roux with the sausage and bacon fat.
4. Slowly stir in the half and half. Keep stirring and cook over medium heat until it thickens.
5. Stir in butter and serve.
6. P.S. 1. If the gravy is too thick, you can add more half/half to thin it out. 2. If there are any leftovers and you want to re-heat this. I stir in a little more half /half and pop it in the microwave. 3. In the original recipe it calls for 1 tsp of salt, but for me there is a lot of salt in the meat already. It is easier to add salt to your plate, then have one person not be able to eat this because it is too salty for them. 4. We have also tried this with half hot sausage and half regular for a little more spice. Or you can just add red pepper flakes while cooking the meat.