Perfect for ugly fall tomatoes, still juicy but somewhat neglected, weather-worn, nibbled on the edges.
Course Breakfast, Side Dish
Cuisine gravy
Prep Time 10minutes
Cook Time 20minutes
Total Time 30minutes
Servings 6-8 servings
Ingredients
1/2poundbacon stripsdiced
1medium onionfinely chopped
2tablespoonsall-purpose flour
1/2teaspoonkosher diamond saltslightly less if using canned tomatoes.
black pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste- usually a couple of shakesCrystal is my favorite but Tabasco or another Louisiana style hot sauce will also be just fine
6-8fresh heirloom tomatoes and their juices- cleaned of the nasty bitspeeled if necessary, and roughly chopped.
Tomato juice or stock if necessary to thin the sauce
Instructions
Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan to drain and discard all but about 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease.
Cook the onion in the bacon drippings over medium low heat until tender- usually about 10-15 minutes.
Stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook and stir over low heat until flour is completely incorporated into the oil and has just begun to brown.
Add the tomatoes and their juices; stir well. Bring to a simmer, stirring to throughly combine and to crush the tomatoes into bits. If you need to add more liquid do so in a steady stream once the original tomato bits have been completely combined with the flour.
Reduce heat and continue to cook, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Serve hot over fresh made biscuits- like these green chile and cheese biscuits or these whole wheat biscuits for two- you can either add the bacon bits directly to the gravy in the last few minutes of cooking or sprinkle them over the top of the finished dish to keep them crispy. Add egg (optional)