Southern-Style White Gravy

This is a staple in some parts of the country, but it was a mystery for me!!  When my husband first told me he loved biscuits and gravy, I pictured a chicken stock based gravy and was kind of repulsed.  I'm pretty sure this was one of the first meals my mother-in-law served me, and it's fantastic.  The gravy is peppery with just the right amount of salt.  Since it's only 4 tablespoons of butter, it doesn't really matter if you used salted or unsalted (salted adds about 1/8 teaspoon salt).  It took me a long time to figure out the proportions of the gravy, but I finally got it right.  You could also serve this with fried chicken or pan fried pork chops.


Southern-Style White Gravy
Adapted from my mother-in-law

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons)  butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (about 50 grinds)

Melt butter, and add flour to make a roux.  Cook about 1 minute, then whisk in milk.  Add salt and pepper.  Cook until thickened (about 7-10 minutes), whisking often, and the whisk makes ribbons in the gravy.  Serve hot.