Imagine my surprise when this guy I was dating told me his mother would be cooking a tomato gravy to put on top of biscuits for breakfast. My first thought was “Why in the world are we having spaghetti sauce on top of biscuits let alone for breakfast??” He tried to explain it to me, but it was one of those things I just had to see.
So I watched her cook it, ate it, and completely enjoyed it! At that moment, I became bound and determined to learn how to make this guy’s favorite breakfast meal! Thankfully I aced it since 19 years later he’s my husband and still loves his tomato gravy and biscuits!
Jump to RecipeOne (and I do mean only one) benefit of my father-in-law having a huge bountiful garden is getting fresh tomatoes for this dish! But if you don’t have access to fresh canned tomatoes, store bought cans will do just fine. One difference between fresh canned tomatoes and store bought will be the need to add some liquid with store bought. If you find that the gravy is a little too thick, you can add water but I prefer chicken broth.
To make the roux, the best fat to use is bacon grease. What I do is save the grease from when I cook bacon. It stores very well in the freezer in a plastic container with a good lid. You can break it off with a knife quite easily. And I must say, this it by far the best and easiest way to infuse flavor in a dish is bacon fat! You can see that I save the bits of bacon that are in the pot as well.
Once you get the oil good and hot, add your flour and make a roux. You want it to get a really dark caramel color before adding the veggies. It’s a slow process so don’t rush it.
A thing to remember about adding veggies to a well browned roux, the roux is going to continue getting brown, so don’t get alarmed. I first add the onions and let them cook for a few minutes then add the bell pepper, celery, and cut up hot peppers.
The tomatoes are going to be added when the veggies are good and tender. You’ll also add the rest of your seasoning at this point and just let it cook for about 45 minutes. Watch it to see the consistency you like and if it’s too thick, just add a little chicken broth or water.
We like to enjoy this over some homemade biscuits with a side of bacon or breakfast sausage.
Southern Tomato Gravy
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Grease bacon fat or canola oil
- ¼ cup Flour All Purpose
- ½ medium Onion diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 2 hot peppers diced
- ¼ bell pepper diced
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a dutch oven, over medium high heat, add grease and flour then whisk to a smooth consistency to make your roux.
- Whisk often until the roux becomes a dark caramel color.
- Add diced onions, cook on medium for 3-4 minutes.
- Add diced peppers and celery then cook until tender, stirring frequently.
- Pour in both cans of tomatoes and stir until liquid is incorporated in the roux.
- Bring to simmer and add all remaining ingredients.
- Check for thickness adding chicken broth or water if too thick.
- Cook on low heat for 45 minutes stirring often.
- Serve over hot biscuits.