The Gravy Awards
As one of our favorite Southern food writers Sheri Castle says, “Chefs make sauce, cooks make gravy.” A practical mash-up of leftover pan drippings and a dash of flour, gravy is cooked and seasoned into something tastefully transcendent; a dramatically impressive sum scratched together from humble parts. Here are just a few of our breakfast favorites.
Most Decadent: Chocolate Gravy
Sometimes the most delicious things are the simplest. Cocoa powder, milk, and a little sugar bubble into a dark and luscious sauce that transforms biscuits into a divine dessert.
Chocolate Gravy
2015-01-26 23:21:17
Yield: approximately 3 cups
Ingredients
- 1⁄4 cup butter
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1⁄3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 1⁄2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add sugar, flour, and cocoa, stirring to combine. Add milk and vanilla; whisk until no lumps remain. Simmer until thickened, approximately 4 minutes. Serve hot with biscuits.
Taste of the South https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/
Sausage drippings, flour, and milk (and bits of browned sausage, if you’re lucky!) combine for a gravy that goes with all your breakfast favorites.
Sawmill Gravy
2015-01-26 23:22:42
Yield: approximately 4 cups
Ingredients
- 1 (1-pound) package bulk pork sausage
- 1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring to crumble, until very brown, approximately 12 minutes. Sprinkle flour over sausage, and stir until sausage is coated. Slowly whisk in milk, and simmer, whisking continuously, until thickened, approximately 4 minutes. Stir in garlic salt, pepper, and Worcestershire.
Taste of the South https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/
Juicy tomatoes break down into a ruby puddle of Southern goodness that’s just as tasty spooned over grits as it is on biscuits.
Tomato Gravy
2015-01-26 23:23:45
Yield: approximately 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup chopped white onion
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups tomato juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium-high heat until bacon is crisp and onion is softened, approximately 6 minutes. Stir in flour; cook for 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes, tomato juice, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. Stir in salt and pepper; serve hot.
Taste of the South https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/
While it might not be true, the rumor that President Andrew Jackson named this gravy for his moonshine-loving cook is too good to dismiss.
Red-Eye Gravy
2015-01-26 23:26:16
Yield: approximately 2 cups
Ingredients
- 8 ounces sliced country ham, cut into 4-inch squares
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brewed coffee
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place ham in a large bowl, and add enough warm water to cover. Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove ham from water, and pat dry.
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add ham, and cook until crisp, approximately 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate, and keep warm.
- Stir in flour, and cook until lightly brown, approximately 1 minute. Whisk in coffee and chicken broth. Stir in salt and pepper. Serve over ham.
Notes
- Note: Red-eye Gravy is traditionally made by deglazing the skillet where ham has been fried with coffee.
Taste of the South https://tasteofthesouthmagazine.com/
