My first memory of eating biscuits and gravy with an over-easy egg was in my early twenties at Corner Kitchen in Asheville, North Carolina. I worked as a line cook there for years, and on my days off, I’d come in to eat at the counter. Fellow line cook and friend, Mark Jamison, would cook my sausage biscuit breakfast and deliver the plate. He always pierced my yolk before I could get to it. It drove me mad at the time, but I laugh about it now.
It’s such a perfect meal. It satisfies all the senses. Nice, peppery sausage gravy on top of a fluffy biscuit with the added richness from a runny egg yolk… this dish requires a runny yolk.
1 lb. ground Mexican chorizo (no casing)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 qt. whole milk, room temperature or slightly warmed
2 Tbsp. fresh-squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup loosely-packed chopped cilantro
4 farm-fresh eggs
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
Your favorite homemade biscuit recipe or frozen Pillsbury Southern Style Biscuits
Preheat oven for biscuits.
Cook chorizo in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, rendering fat, until broken up and crispy. Reduce to medium heat and sprinkle flour onto chorizo, stirring constantly, scraping up fond (brown bits) from the bottom of the pan.
Once you begin to smell the nuttiness from the flour cooking with the fat (your roux), begin adding the milk in 1/2 cup increments, whisking constantly. Once gravy is at desired consistency, bring to a low simmer, whisking frequently, for 20-30 minutes. Adjust liquid as needed, adding more milk if gravy becomes too thick. Finish by whisking in lime juice and folding in cilantro.
While gravy is simmering, bake biscuits. Remove from oven and brush with butter.
Crack eggs into four individual ramekins or cups. To cook eggs, heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add butter and swirl around in pan to coat. When the butter stops foaming, add eggs one at a time, cooking for one to two minutes before flipping and cooking to desired doneness.
Split biscuits on plates, top each with gravy, and transfer over-easy eggs to finish.
Photos by Lanewood Studio.