McDonald’s is a fast food giant that changes its menus to suit different regional tastes, and with over 13,000 eateries across America, there are plenty of palates to adapt to. This is why you’ll only find Scratch Biscuits and Gravy at McDonald’s in most Southern states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, as well as select Midwestern states like Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio. Unfortunately, not every location in each of these states is guaranteed to have this breakfast staple. Meanwhile, residents of Western and Northern states where the 940-calorie comfort food, consisting of rich white sausage gravy and a pair of buttery biscuits, is glaringly absent from menus are simply plumb out of luck.
Warning: If you live in an area where this exclusive McDonald’s item is unavailable and you’re prone to jealousy (ignorance is bliss after all), you may want to stop reading, as social media users claim the breakfast item is actually pretty good. It was the perfect hangover treat and delicious enough to order again, according to one Reddit post; on Facebook, one user quipped, “For it to be fast food biscuits and gravy it’s so good.”
The regional roots of biscuits and gravy
It’s rumored that biscuits and gravy once had a place on McDonald’s menus nationwide, but they quietly disappeared over time. So, why might this comforting classic have made a comeback in the South and parts of the Midwest? The answer lies in its culinary roots: This dish is the embodiment of Southern cooking — hearty, unfussy, and generously portioned. But to truly understand its regional staying power, we have to look to its history.
The tasty breakfast staple can be traced back to the rugged Southern Appalachian region in the late 1800s. In labor-intensive communities, food needed to be cheap, filling, and high in calories. Biscuits doused in sawmill gravy, a thick, peppery roux-based sauce typically made with sausage and a dash of milk, provided just that. The legacy of this dish is also preserved in early cookbooks, like Abby Fisher’s “What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking.” Published in 1881, it was one of the first American cookbooks written by a Black woman, and her recipes, including one for biscuits, helped preserve the traditions passed down through generations of Southern cooks who established the soul food culinary tradition.
But the dish didn’t catch on in the Northern states, where diners tended to prefer lighter, cooler breads, often believed to be easier on the stomach. Still, food trends are always evolving. Like sandwiches and lobster before it, biscuits and gravy has undergone a transformation socially, moving from humble origins to a spot on both diner menus and upscale restaurant plates nationwide. So who knows? Maybe it will end up on more McDonald’s menus across the country one day.
