Sausage gravy

In a medium pan over medium-high heat, brown your sausage. During the browning process, use your spoon, spatula or potato masher to break up the sausage into small crumbles. 

Once the sausage is brown and in small crumbles, check to see how much sausage grease is in the pan. If it's less than 2 tablespoons, you should supplement it with bacon fat or butter until you have about 2 tablespoons of grease in the pan.

Add the flour, stirring it into the grease. This stirring process will help your gravy to stay smooth and lump-free. 

Cook the flour for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often.

Add 1 cup of milk to the flour/grease and stir before adding at least 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and the minced fresh sage if using. Taste the gravy to see if you need to add salt. I usually end up adding a small pinch.

Add a few shakes of hot sauce if you like your gravy to be spicy.  

Cook the gravy for around 5 minutes. This time is variable because your milk amount is variable, and you may want a thinner or thicker gravy.  If the gravy is too thick, add a little bit of milk until you get to a pourable consistency. When you get to the consistency that you desire, remove the pan from the heat and serve.