Sausage Gravy

Ingredients

• 1 lb bulk breakfast sausage
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp allspice powder
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves or powder
• 4-6 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste*
• Oyster sauce**

Preparation Instructions

1. In a skillet set on medium-high heat, brown sausage, crumbling it with a wooden spoon.
2. Pour off excess oil, leaving only about 1-tbsp in pot.
3. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent; about 5-minutes.
4. Now stir in minced garlic and cook for about 1-minute.
5. Pour in dried seasonings, give a good stir to blend them in and let cook for about a minute to really assimilate the flavors.
6. Remove cooked sausage from pot and set aside.***
7. Turn heat down to medium and add the cream cheese, and chicken broth, and heavy cream to the pot.
8. Whisk the mix until cream cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.
9. Return cooked sausage to pot with sauce and let simmer until thickened about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Notes

I like to wait until the end to add saltiness as I’ve oversalted before, due a lot of breakfast sausages being pre-seasoned.

If some salt is deemed necessary, I prefer to use oyster sauce, since in my opinion it adds that bit of umami, over plain salt.

It is not necessary to remove sausage from pot in order to make the sauce. I just prefer to do it that way because it feels like it handles better and gives more control over the consistency of the sauce and melting the cream cheese.