Tomato Gravy is definitely a southern breakfast thing. I’ve seen it on country-style and rural greasy spoon restaurants ALLLL over, from North Carolina to New Orleans. But, the thing is, I rarely order it because lots of time it takes like Chef Boyardee or thicker V8 Juice. Do you know what I mean? There’s nothing wrong with that but honestly, I LOVE BISCUITS SO MUCH why would I eff up a perfectly good one with fake-tomato goop with butter and a little jam works like a charm.
I’ve been testing recipes out of John Currence’s Big Bad Breakfast cookbook lately that my wonderful Mama-in-law gave me for Christmas, and ALL of the things in there are good…but THIS ONE is probably my favorite. It mixes a creole/cajun roux with bacon grease, FRESH tomatoes and then I replaced dried thyme with fresh basil. It takes a little time, but since I had my biscuit dough in the freezer already from a previous batch it was worth the effort…especially since we had it for supper instead of breakfast. A side of bacon or ham, and Oooooweee!
But tell me..where’s YOUR favorite tomato gravy and what makes it the best? I’d love to have a list of where my next roadtrip breakfast should be!
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ Cup diced onion
- 1 Tablespoon bacon grease
- ¼ Cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Cups cored, seeded, and dice tomatoes
- salt and black pepper
- 1 Cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 4 leaves basil, minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1½ teaspoons lemon juice (fresh is best)
- ½ Cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup green onions, green part chopped only
- Melt the butter in a saucepan
- Cook the onion until transparent
- Add the bacon grease/fat and cook until it melts.
- Put the flour in and whisk it constantly until a light golden roux forms. (I'm NOT an expert roux maker... my LSU grandmother and Louisiana aunt would frown if they knew). But this one is lighter and doesn't take so long(2 to 3 mins)...just get the flour lightly cooked.
- Stir in the fresh tomatoes, season with salt and pepper.
- Once the tomatoes begin to cook down, add the canned crushed tomatoes and the seasonings.
- Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally until it thickens some.
- Once that happens, add the cream and lemon juice and simmer again, stirring it a lot until it thickens and "coats the back of a spoon".
- Take it off the heat and mix in the green onions.
- Serve over biscuits immediately, or keep it warm for a couple of hours over a double boiler.
- Die because it's so delicious.
