Growing up, Saturday mornings were the BEST! No matter the season, or which friend slept over on Friday night, mama would get up and cook a big breakfast with fresh scrambled eggs, grits, bacon and homemade buttermilk biscuits! Sometimes if we were real good, she would make chicken biscuits and gravy! I especially LOVED chicken and biscuit Saturday mornings.

I think winters may have been my favorite. My friends and I would wake up, go in the living room, camp out in front of the space heater and watch Saturday morning cartoons while waiting for mama to call us to eat. My BFF Libby was a total Smurfs freak! She so could have been a living version of Smurfette, except she wasn’t blue.

I was totally into the Snorks, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and of course Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes! There were so many good ones how could you choose? Honestly, Saturday morning cartoons and Gilligan’s Island after school was about my limit on TV. I was a tomboy and I preferred to be outside climbing trees, riding bikes and snacking on Cinnamon Gummy Bears.

That said, I sure do miss the innocence of Saturday morning cartoons. And I miss mama’s big Saturday morning breakfast. We still have the big breakfast, except now I have to cook it. It’s just not the same.

Mama’s Southern Chicken Biscuits & Gravy

For the Chicken:

• 6-8 pieces of chicken – I use dark meat, thighs and legs
• 2 cups Buttermilk
• 3 dashes hot sauce
• 2 cups flour
• 2-3 cups Panko – Japanese Bread Crumbs – DO NOT SUBSTITUTE
• 4 eggs or 6 whites – lightly beaten (I use Eggbeaters)
• 1 tsp. Dry Italian Seasoning
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Onion powder
• 1 tsp. Thyme
• Smoked Paprika
• Salt & Pepper

For the Biscuits:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup buttermilk

For the Gravy

• 1 lb of pork or chicken sausage
• 2 tbsp. of Butter
• 4 tbsp. of flour
• 2 cups Milk
• Salt and Pepper to taste

      

Directions

For the Chicken:

Blend Buttermilk and hot sauce, and place in a gallon zip lock bag. Wash chicken pieces with cold water, shake dry and add to bag. Allow this to marinate at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. I like to turn the bag occasionally to allow all sides to marinate. The Buttermilk will keep your chicken juicy.

In a shallow bowl, blend flour and all herbs and spices. Add salt and pepper according to your taste preference. Pour the egg in a second shallow bowl. Place the Panko in a gallon ziplock bag.

Remove chicken from Buttermilk and drain. Dredge each piece of chicken in flour first coating all sides, and shaking off excess flour. Next, dip each piece in the egg wash. Then place in the bag of Panko and gently shake to coat. Make sure each piece is WELL COATED with the Panko. Place each piece onto a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with additional Smoked Paprika.

Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is done and juices run clear.

For the Biscuits:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut 3/4 cup chilled butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir. Drop biscuits onto baking sheet with an ice cream scoop. Bake about 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

For the Gravy:

Add sausage to a skillet and brown over medium heat making sure to crumble the sausage. Remove sausage from skillet, leaving the liquid, and drain on paper towels.

Add 2 Tablespoons of butter into the skillet. Add small amounts of flour at a time, whisking constantly to create a roux. Continue to whisk and let cook for about a minute. Begin whisking in milk until all ingredients are incorporated. Return sausage to the gravy, then add salt & pepper to taste.

*For a special treat, add bread & butter pickles, homemade jam or Sriracha hot sauce to the chicken biscuits. If you like spice, coat the chicken in Sriracha after baking!

Life is too short to eat ugly food y’all.