Sausage Preparation

1. In a skillet over medium heat, add in the fennel seeds and cracked black pepper. Toast them for 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant. Once done, let them cool down for 2 minutes before mixing in with other spices.

2. In a small bowl combine and mix together the toasted fennel seeds and cracked black pepper along with the salt, onion powder, ground sage, dried rosemary, oregano, dried thyme.

3. In a large bowl, add in ground turkey. Next, sprinkle in spices from the small bowl. Then, add in minced garlic. With gloved hands or a rubber spatula, mix until thoroughly incorporated.

4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or bowl top cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. For best results I recommend refrigerating for at least 8 - 24 hours.

Biscuit Preparation

5. Begin biscuit preparation once the sausage is done refrigerating and ready to cook. We want to have the biscuits prepped and ready to bake immediately after the gravy has been cooked. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until well combined.

6. Use the largest holes on a box grater to grate the frozen butter into the bowl. Use a spatula to mix and coat the butter with the flour or use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumble-like in appearance. If the butter starts to soften, put the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before proceeding.

7. Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the cold buttermilk. Use a silicone or wooden spatula to gently stir until just combined. Use your hands towards the end of mixing to knead all of the flour into the dough and form a shaggy ball. The dough should be slightly sticky but not wet.

8. On a clean and disinfected surface, such as a countertop, generously sprinkle flour over the area where you will be working. Turn out the dough onto the floured surface and lightly sprinkle flour over the dough. If using a rolling pin, rub a small amount of flour onto the pin; if using your hands, lightly dust them with flour. 

9. Roll dough out into a rough rectangle about 7×12 inches (18x30cm) and ½ inch (1.25cm) thick. Fold the left side of the dough into the middle and then fold the right side over top of the folded left side. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll back out into a rough rectangle until the dough is ½ inch (1.25cm) thick again. Repeat these steps 8 to 10 times in total. Folding the dough and rolling out multiple times creates layers that will help us achieve tall, flaky biscuits. Finish the process by rolling the dough out to ¾ to 1 inch (2 to 2.5cm) thick.

10. Using a lightly floured 3-inch (7.5cm) biscuit cutter or a cup or wine glass, cut out 6 circles of dough. Do not twist the cutter, as this will seal the edges and hinder the biscuits from rising. When you have cut the biscuits out of the dough and there is no more surface area to cut additional biscuits, combine the dough scraps together and roll out again to the same thickness, repeat the folding method from the previous step, then roll out to ¾ to 1-inch thickness. Cut out biscuits until you can no longer make any additional biscuits. You should get 8 biscuits total, which can be up to 12 depending on the sizes.

11. After the biscuits have been shaped, I recommend placing them on a lined pan, covering the pan, and refrigerating while the sausage gravy is being cooked. 

Cooking Sausage Gravy

12. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat, add in 2 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot, can easily move around the skillet and shimmer, add in the refrigerated turkey mixture. 

13. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the meat is cooked thoroughly and browned. While cooking, be sure to break the meat down into crumbles.

14. Preheat the oven to 450 Fº.

15. Reduce the skillet heat to medium heat. After the meat has been cooked, add in 1 tablespoon of butter and mix in thoroughly until melted. Next, sprinkle all-purpose flour over the meat and stir to combine thoroughly until the flour is no longer visible. Then, pour in the half & half, about 1 cup at a time, while continuously stirring in. Bring to a rolling simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes until the gravy has thickened. Give the gravy a taste to see if you would like to add in additional salt and black pepper. Once done, allow to cool down for about 3 to 5 minutes before adding the biscuits on top.

Baking the BIscuits

16. Place the biscuits on top of the sausage gravy in the skillet. Brush the top of the biscuits with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Then, place the skillet in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown and firm. Once you remove them from the oven, brush with additional melted butter, then serve.