I was getting pretty good at whipping us up some delicious low FODMAP friendly breakfast sausage gravy to go with my flaky layer biscuits – until I was diagnosed with IC and put on a restrictive diet to get me out of my flare-up. I’ve come back to edit this to show how I accomodate both my low FODMAP partner’s restrictions and my own in one fell swoop, but if you’re low FODMAP only, this recipe remains unchanged save for some notes at the very end.
At the end before my recipe card I’ll have a special section JUST for IC patients on how to modify this so it doesn’t irritate you. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU: just scroll to the bottom of the post right before the recipe card. Then just read that section, fam.
You know I gotta call my recipes like three different names to be confusing and to add to my overall Lore (see: Brookey’s Week-Long Pie). I like to sometimes call this recipe Brookey’s Three-Spatula Gravy.
The first thing you do when you make a sausage gravy is brown the sausage. Me, I like to flatten a whole pound log of breakfast sausage into a large, deep skillet and brown one side, then flip it. This is where I use the first spatula; a metal one to flatten the sausage log. Sometimes I also just wanna get it done super quick, use the palm of my hand to flatten it into the desired shape, and wash my hands extremely well.
When I flip the giant sausage patty, I use the big flat plastic spatula pictured below: That’s Spatula Two, baby.
After you flip your giant sausage pancake the very first time is the perfect time to grab a wooden spoon or spatula (whatever you call this thing I’m using in the pics – if you know, email me or leave me a comment and I’ll love you forever. It’s my favorite tool, it came in a variety bag of cheap wooden kitchen stuff).
Guess what I’m calling it until then though? You guessed it – Spatula Three. Use this final puppy to break up the sausage pancake into little pieces like in the pictures below. You’ll continue to break them up a little more than this as the sausage-browning progresses further, but while one side is congealing into a crispy patty and the other side is still soft as butter, it’s incredibly easy to break up quickly.
Now, if I’m making sausage gravy so I can make biscuits AND gravy (I am), I hack up and brown the meat in the skillet to my liking, then turn the stove off, remove the skillet from the heat and go on to make my biscuits. I don’t come back to the sausage until my biscuits are in the oven.
Then I crank that burner back to medium-low, taste the sausage, season it up to my liking, and sautee my spices in with it while it heats back up. Today, I fried in plenty of rubbed dried sage and freshly ground fennel seed – unground would also be fine if that’s what you’re working with, as long as you fry it in that fat for a couple minutes to release its oils and flavors. Now sprinkle over your flour and stir it all up.
I love the fennel in here because, one: it’s great for digestion. Two: I love a strong, aromatic herb like this to cut the taste of a richer dish. Just in general. But now more than ever; for IC patients, this is a great way to add some brightness and acidity that rich dishes really need – without adding lemon, buttermilk, or vinegary hot sauce (non IC patients: consider adding hot sauce). Don’t like fennel? Definitely leave it out. It’s polarizing, I’m not gonna try to talk you into it. Find another herb you like to load up on. But add that herb.
After my flour and spices have cooked for about five minutes (foaming up a fair amount, which is normal), I slowly stir in my lactose-free milk and then I just scrape up all the cooked-on bits at the bottom and stir constantly until the gravy’s the thickness I like. You can always add a little more milk in if you go too far and season accordingly.
Before simmering 10 or so minutes. 
After.
At the very end, taste the gravy. If if needs more spices, add them and give them about 5 more minutes to simmer in. Add salt and pepper aggressively, and if you’re feeling up to it, toss a very little amount of maple syrup in there.
LOOKING TO MAKE THIS GRAVY IC-FRIENDLY?
You’ll merely have to be careful of the sausage itself, and if dairy’s a trigger for you, use a dairy-free milk for the gravy. I was in a pretty advanced flare-up and I can still have whole milk, but all IC patients are different. When you’re shopping for breakfast sausage, look for uncured sausage to avoid the nitrite preservatives. Strong, spicy preserved meats (such as ‘spicy’ sausage, pepperoni, salami, etc) are commonly more irritating.
Your absolute best bet if you’ve tested something like Jimmy Dean Natural mild sausage and found it still irritates you, is to either make your own sausage or buy freshly ground breakfast sausage from a deli counter or butcher. In addition to being better because it’s fresher, fresh sausage is typically higher quality and more delicious anyway. I can regularly get awesome, non-irritating fresh breakfast sausage from the counter at Whole Foods if your town has one of those. But any fresh ground pork sausage that’s not overly spiced with triggersome spices will work great – you can always add the spices you do want right to the raw sausage and mix together right before cooking; they’ll marry in beautifully as you initially brown the sausage for the gravy.
Gluten Free & Low FODMAP Sausage Gravy (Interstitial Cystitis Friendly Sausage Breakfast Gravy)
A delicious and flavorful sausage gravy you’d never know was gluten free – let alone safe for low FODMAP and (with some minor modifications listed below) Interstitial Cystitis diets.
8
servings5
minutes30
minutesIngredients
1/4 cup, +1 tablespoon gluten free flour (I used GF Jules this time)
1 pound breakfast sausage (IC patients – see my section directly above this recipe card); I used Jimmy Dean Natural this time
2 1/2 cups whole lactose-free milk (IC patients may use dairy free milk)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground fennel (optional, you can also use dried ground)
1 tablespoon sage
a few minced leaves or a shake of dry rosemary
aggressive salt and pepper to taste
.5 – 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
- Non-IC patients only! (Fine for low FODMAP)
some dashes of a vinegary hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions
- Get the biggest deep skillet you have, and in that, use a spatula to mash out a pancake shape of your 1-pound roll or package of sausage. This will likely almost fill your pan.
- Fry giant sausage patty brown and flip over. Break up half-browned sausage into small pieces using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Finish frying and breaking up remaining sausage to a desired level of crispy golden-brown (I like mine real crispy). You can take a break here and come back to it later.
- Bring to medium heat until sizzling and sprinkle on the flour and a small amount of your desired seasonings. Stir and scrape at the bottom of the pan with wooden spoon or spatula and really get everything worked up while you cook the flour mixture into the sausage for about 5 minutes. It will start to foam, that’s normal.
- Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. But you don’t have to stir super quick, just consistently. Taste and adjust seasonings again, adding a small amount of maple syrup to taste, if that sounds good to you. Non-IC patients: this is where you can add a little hot sauce to taste. Simmer until gravy is desired consistency, about 10 minutes more. Serve immediately (or reheated in the microwave later) over gluten free biscuits.
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