At the first sign of any browning, add the onion and the dash of salt and mix it in. You don't really need salt given the content in the sausage. Add the sage at this point. Continue cooking until the onion turns translucent.

When the sausage is no longer pink and you start seeing brown bits of onion, it's time for the next step.

Sprinkle in a couple tablespoons of flour and mix well. If you still see oil/grease on the bottom of the pan, add another teaspoon of flour until it's all soaked up.

The bottom of the pan should have little or no oil/grease left. Now keep stirring until you no longer see any white flour, and any flour you can see looks a bit tan. This is the key to having a good looking resulting product. You want the flour to brown a bit. Don't think Bechamel, think roux.

Add the chicken broth to deglaze the pan. If you opt to not use the broth, use a 1/2 cup of milk. Loosen all of the good brown bits in the pan and then add a cup or more of milk. Add the pepper at this point.

Let the milk come to a boil. The gravy will start to tighten up. Add milk, about 1/2 cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Test the gravy, adding more pepper if needed. I prefer my gravy to be thin enough to soak into biscuits, but not thin enough to run all over, and definitely not thick as paste. You can also add hot sauce during the deglaze stage if you want some kick.

Submitted by: Mr. Moustache