Slow Cooker Sausage Gravy

A big hearty breakfast is the highlight of a holiday morning! We should be cherishing every moment with loved ones and sometimes making another meal + another round of dishes can be overwhelming. A common Christmas Morning tradition seems to be cinnamon rolls, since they can be made the evening before and freshly baked upon waking up. Cinnamon rolls are great, but not everyone at the table wants a sweet + sugary morning treat. I am savory gal personally, so biscuits and gravy is what I'll be having this year. To make it as hassle free as cinnamon rolls, I've turned this into a crockpot recipe that can either cook on high for 4 hours if you're an early riser, or on low for 8 if you let it go overnight. I made some fresh biscuits a week prior and stored them in the freezer so a quick 15 minute bake gets you fresh and hot breakfast right when you wake. 

Here is our favorite biscuit recipe to pair with this gravy. 

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds breakfast sausage
• 5 strips bacon
• 1/2 stick butter, unsalted
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 teaspoons SKORDO Maine Blueberry Pork Rub
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt
• freshly cracked Tellicherry Peppercorns
• fresh chives

Directions:

1. Cook your bacon until crisp, reserve bacon fat for biscuits.
2. Remove casing from sausages, and cook over medium high heat in same skillet bacon was cooked in, season with SKORDO Maine Blueberry Pork Rub + dried herbs. Brown sausage, then with a spatula or spoon, break it up into crumbles.
3. When 90% cooked + minimal pink remains, add flour to sausage, then sausage to crockpot. 
4. In same skillet again, heat 2 tablespoons butter and cook onion + garlic. When translucent, add to crockpot. 
5. Add remaining butter to crockpot, along with milk, cream, salt and pepper. 
6. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4. Gravy will look separated, but after whisking it will come together nicely. Crumble bacon + stir it through. Season again with freshly cracked pepper and salt if needed. 
7. To enjoy, serve with biscuits and top with chives.