Duck-fat scones, smoked cheese, sausage gravy and fried eggs

1.Preheat oven to 200C. Mix flour and sugar in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and rub in the duck fat until fully incorporated and resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre, add buttermilk and mix very gently with your fingertips until batter just comes together; take care not to overwork it or the scones will turn out like rock cakes. Transfer to a floured surface and pat out to a 2cm-3cm thick rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares, place them close together on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake until scones have risen and are golden (12-15 minutes). Cool briefly on a wire rack, then split in half crossways and arrange on a baking tray.

2.For sausage gravy, warm stock in a large saucepan. Remove sausage meat from skins, heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan over high heat, add sausage meat and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat into small pieces, until browned (4-6 minutes). Remove from pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-high, add butter to pan and, when melted, add flour and stir until golden (3-5 minutes). Add stock gradually (be careful, sauce may spit), stirring continuously to avoid lumps, and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook gravy until thickened to your liking (10-15 minutes). Add sausage meat and keep warm.

3.Preheat grill to high. Heat remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan over low-medium heat and fry eggs in batches until just cooked (4-6 minutes). Place eggs on each scone half, top with cheese slices then grill to melt cheese (3-5 minutes). Serve scones hot with warm sausage gravy ladled over.