Tomato Gravy: A Heirloom Recipe from the South
Tomato Gravy: A Family Tradition
I live in south Alabama (born and raised), but a few generations back, some of my ancestors came from the Appalachian region. One recipe passed down in my family is Tomato Gravy. We eat it with biscuits or rice. I’d love to know if this is more of a Southern recipe or an Appalachian one. My great-great-grandmother, who was born around 1880, made this, so it’s been passed down a long time. Thanks for your memories and help!
Tomato Gravy Recipe
Ingredients:
- A couple of strips of bacon or a couple of teaspoons of bacon grease
- Half a stick of butter
- Half a cup of flour
- One pint of chicken broth
- One to one and a half pints of home-canned tomatoes (depending on how tomatoey you like it)
- Salt
- Pepper
- A little Jane’s Crazy Mixed-Up Salt
Instructions:
- Start with bacon grease and butter. Usually, cook a couple of strips of bacon or use a couple of teaspoons of bacon grease.
- Add half a stick of butter and half a cup of flour. Cook that for about 10 minutes on low heat, whisking to make a roux.
- Add one pint of chicken broth and one to one and a half pints of home-canned tomatoes, depending on how tomatoey you like it.
- Add salt, pepper, and a little Jane’s Crazy Mixed-Up Salt, and cook on medium-low for another 10-15 minutes.
- You can also start by frying pork chops and use the grease for the recipe. Tomato gravy is excellent with fried pork chops!
- Sometimes, double the recipe for larger servings.
